110 degrees magazine - Index

110 degrees magazine - 110° Magazine - July 2007 - Through the gates of Hell - Index

I WAS JUST THINKING [NO ODD RESULTS!]
Many years ago a wealthy Illinois resident
had a dispute with a poor neighbor
over $2.50. Filled with anger and bitterness
the rich man hired a young lawyer,
named Abraham Lincoln, to sue the poor
man for the money. Lincoln finally consented
but demanded $10 in advance to
handle the case.
When the rich man gave him the
money, Lincoln offered the poor man
$5.00 if he would agree to settle the
$2.50 claim. The guy of course agreed,
Lincoln paid him the $5.00, the man
returned to Lincoln $2.50, which Lincoln
gave to the rich man, pocketing the
remaining $5.00 as his fee.
The rich moron had foolishly paid four
times the original sum, in his attempt to
get even with a person whom he
believed had wronged him.
The identity of Franklin P. Jones is
debatable, but the man nailed a remarkable
principle in this month’s quote
about the “odd results” from “trying to
get even.” Acts of revenge for real or
imagined harms and slights often do
produce odd and unintended results. In
most cases the person trying to get even
reaps the worst effects of his vengeance.
The writer and poet, Dorothy Parker,
told us that “revenge is a dish best
served cold.”
All of us know what she’s talking
about. Whenever I feel that my honor is
maligned, my property taken, or my
rights denied, rather than lashing out
in the heat of the moment I find it to be
far more satisfying to bide my time,
harbor the offense in my heart, and
plan a suitable response so that when
the great event finally comes I can
savor the moment and rejoice in my
enemy’s ignominious defeat.
“What is best in life?” the Mongol general
asked his warriors. He then approved
of Conan the Barbarian’s response, “To
crush your enemies, see them driven
before you, and to hear the lamentation
of the women.”
80 www.110mag.com July 2007
*“NOTHING PRO-
DUCES SUCH ODD
RESULTS AS TRYING
TO GET EVEN.”
FRANKLIN P. JONES
Some of us can understand that kind
of exaltation, but people holding even
the most modest version of such a
monstrous attitude finally become
victims of their own aggression —
losing the capacity for experiencing
kindness, peace, and joy in all of their
relationships.
Reflexive and instinctive forgiveness
is surely one of the most important
activities cultivated by any person
who intends to live life in the
sunshine of true joy, because anger
and bitterness are acids that eat
away the vessel that contains them.
I love a quote by Buddha, “Holding on to
anger is like grasping a hot coal with the
intent of throwing it at someone else; you
are the one getting burned.”
Jesus doubtlessly agreed with
Buddha’s sentiment because He said
that if your enemy takes your coat, then
you should also give him your sweater
(Huntington’s version).
The type of action that Jesus demanded
provides the only way for me to
escape from confrontation without
being either victim or counter-attacker.
But more important than reducing
aggression is the noble intention of
giving away my sweater to an attacker
— not because my enemy might need
my sweater, but because my enemy
certainly needs my forgiveness. In fact,
the act of handing the sweater over to
him obviates the need to forgive by
doing away with the wrong itself. He
didn’t take anything from me, but
merely accepted what I gave him.
By such an act we might become like
the bishop in Les Misérables who purchased
Jean Val Jean’s life for the price of
two gold candlesticks. We might be able
to say with him:
“God has raised you out of darkness, I
have bought your soul for God.”
Whether or not we can actually help an
enemy towards the light, however, the
requirements for living the life of peace
and love that I insist upon for myself
necessarily drive from my own heart any
shadows of bitterness or vengeance.
One thing that helps me profoundly
with this letting go is the realization that
I am myself so often in the wrong. I have
certainly committed more harm against
the righteousness of Heaven than any
person could possibly commit against
me. CS Lewis said for me to forgive the
inexcusable, “because God has forgiven
the inexcusable in you.”
Right! I’m so grateful for the sense
that I’m cleansed of every black spot that
ever marked my soul. I can then use this
as source of a power for excusing others
for whatever offenses — real or imagined
— they commit against me.
I’m determined to avoid the “odd
results” that Franklin P. Jones described
as always attaching themselves to any
attempt to get even with anybody for
any reason. I’ve found a better way!
Don Huntington
Publisher
don@110mag.com