If anyone takes from you...

The good news at the final football game of the season was that we won, and became bowl eligible. The bad news was that a Wolf Pack flag my sister had given me as a birthday present last year was stolen by (presumably) the people sitting behind us. It's a bummer because any time people feel compelled to steal from someone else it's disappointing, and because as a gift from my sister (one she was exceptionally proud of, too) it has sentimental value.

But in the end, it's a thing, and the people that took it are beings made in God's image. What's done is done, and getting upset about it won't get it back. But what's more, I don't want to be angry with those who took it, because it only serves to harm me. "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?" I can choose to regard those who took my possession in love. It won't get it back. It won't be a witness to them, as they were gone by the time we realized the disappearance. But I choose it, because it's better than the alternative. In this case, the practical application is that I forgive them.

My reward? I don't get all bent out of shape inside. I don't get left with nothing but my own bitterness to chew on. And I feel good about it.