Each day is new gift from God and an opportunity to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, it is easy for the best of us to get side-tracked. A difficult situation, an unkind word, or an unfair ruling can trigger a negative reaction. This can be aggravated by divisive news, caustic social media posts, and a combative culture. Before you know it, good neighbors are not speaking, coworkers are snapping at one another, and loving families are decimated. When people start living defensively and spitefully, the quality of life can easily degenerate. To say it succinctly: Spite makes trite. 

Consider this example:

When Edmund Proctor purchased his farm in Westminster, Massachusetts in 1852, he didn’t see any issue working on all seven days of the week. Farwell Morse, his neighbor across the street thought differently.

Massachusetts still had many Puritanical traditions at the time, which included not working on Sunday as it was considered the Sabbath. Morse expressed his displeasure with Proctor’s decision to work on his farm even on Sundays, however, Morse had no intentions of stopping.

In an attempt to end the dispute and perhaps irritate his neighbor, Proctor constructed an 11-foot-tall, 60-foot-long stone wall between the properties. With the massive wall, Morse would not be able to see when he was working. Proctor continued working on his wall until he died in 1890 at the age of 71. (www.atlasobscura.com)

I am thankful for the many people in our world who choose to use their time and energy to make the world a better place rather than spitefully making a fuss about the things others disagree with them about. I am thankful for the people who police, nurse and educate others even though they may not see eye to eye with them on every topic. I am thankful for those who spread good news, help the poor, and encourage those who are having a difficult time, instead bickering about the things in life that are wrong with the world.

Believe it or not, this is often the momentum behind groups of people who work together as an expression of their common faith – like community groups and churches. The author is privileged to oversee a group of people who have been meeting together for over forty years. They have successfully provided opportunities for people to overcome addictions. They have created opportunities for families to thrive. They have taught and encouraged people to forgive, to give, to be good citizens and to change the world for the better. They have picked up trash, fed the poor and prayed for anyone who was interested. They have seen lives turned around, families restored, and miracles take place. Their beliefs and values are dear to them, but those beliefs and values do not make them bitter or spiteful – and my life is better for being a part of their lives.

We each have only one life to live. There are so many worthy causes to which a person can give their energy. How sad to waste that energy on a wall of spite. Such behavior makes ones’ life so trite. Spite makes trite.