GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 6:19
Grudges
The Romans called talking negatively about someone “gruculare,” which referred to the sound of throat-clearing or muttering. The French took their southern neighbor’s word to mean “grumble,” “mutter,” or “complain.” The English took the word “grudge” to mean murmur, grumble, or complain—an audible expression. Eventually, however, the word came to refer to a persistent feeling of ill will or resentment against someone, especially resentment that is nursed silently over time rather than being expressed openly.
Ernest Hemingway, for example, harbored a deep resentment toward fellow writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. His animosity was partly due to professional jealousy and personal slights. Hemingway’s grudge deepened as he made cutting remarks about Fitzgerald, even long after Fitzgerald’s death.
The grudge held by Bette Davis against Joan Crawford roiled Hollywood for years. The two actresses sparred with one another throughout their careers, even when working together on movie projects.
Perhaps the most famous grudge is described by Mark: “But Herodias held a grudge against him and desired to kill him, and she was not able.” (Mark 6:19) John the Baptist told Herod Antipas that seducing and marrying his half-brother’s wife violated Levitical law, which Sadducees were expected to follow. Perhaps John delivered this reproof in Herodias’ presence, or perhaps Herod told her himself. However she heard about it, Herodias harbored resentment against the baptizer. The word Mark used (ἐνέχω < ἐν, en + ἔχω, to hold) means “to hold against” or “to hold upon,” and is usually translated as “grudge”—to harbor deep internal resentment against another person. Herodias’ resentment focused on killing the person she resented. However, she didn’t have the power to carry out the murder herself, so the resentment smoldered deep inside her, waiting for an opportunity to spring forth.
It is common to point out that holding a grudge does more damage to the holder than to the target, like grasping a hot coal, which burns the hand holding it, not the target. Harboring a grudge—internal anger and resentment toward another—can lead to numerous health problems, depression, and a loss of personal peace. After years of imprisonment and punishment, the South African leader Nelson Mandela, for example, said that grudges, hatred, and resentment were burdens he refused to carry—a healthy attitude toward grudges then and now.
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