A thought by John Townsend from his book, Loving People (p.37). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
But we can't use that as an excuse at not growing.
John says, “We are never truly finished with changing emotionally and spiritually, though we can make great changes and strides toward becoming a healthy, loving person. That means that, along with the proper and righteous anger and hatred we need, loving people will still slip up and be selfishly mad and revengeful toward others they love. While that is not a good thing, it is a real thing.”
He goes on, “So do not expect yourself to never be angry with those you love; do not be totally disappointed with yourself when you fail. Keep working on demonstrating love and healthy expressions of anger and hatred, while giving up the unhealthy versions. However, in your mind, and in your loving relationships, there needs to be more love than anger and hate. This mix has to always be increasing on the love side of the formula as you grow and mature. Otherwise there is not enough connection and care to digest, deal with, resolve, and metabolize the negatives.
He then says, “No matter what emotion you may currently feel toward your loved ones, love must be the most dominant. I encourage people to tell those in their lives, ‘I love you and I get mad at you, but the love is greater than the mad.’ That is what real and growing relationships are about.”
And that's what we really want, isn’t it?
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