WEEKLY MESSAGE
SUN, 07/12/25 - SAT, 13/12/25
ON THE MESSAGE THIS WEEK: DON'T LIVE IN THE SPITE HOUSE
KEY VERSE: “LET ALL BITTERNESS... BE PUT AWAY FROM YOU” (EPHESIANS 4:31)
In 1882 a New York businessman named Joseph Richardson owned a narrow strip of land on Lexington Avenue. It was 5 feet wide and 104 feet long. Another businessman, Hyman N. Sarner, owned a normal sized plot adjacent to Richardson’s skinny one. He wanted to build apartments that fronted the avenue, so he offered Richardson a thousand dollars for the slender plot. Richardson was deeply offended by the low offer and demanded five thousand dollars. Sarner refused, and Richardson, calling him a tightwad, slammed the door on him.
Sarner assumed the land would remain vacant and instructed the architect to design the apartment building with windows overlooking Richardson’s land. But when Richardson saw the finished building, he resolved to block the view; after all, no one was going to enjoy a free view over his plot! So seventy-five-year-old Richardson built an apartment building on it, 5 feet wide, 104 feet long, and four storeys high. Upon completion he and his wife moved in. The absurdity was only one person at a time could ascend the stairs or pass through the hallway. The dining table was eighteen inches wide. A newspaper reporter of some girth once got stuck in the stairwell, and after two tenants were unsuccessful in pushing him free he exited only by stripping down to his undergarments.
The building was dubbed ‘the spite house’. Richardson and his wife spent the last fourteen years of his life there. In 1915 it was torn down.
Bitterness builds a lonely house with only enough space for one person. The lives of its tenants are reduced to one goal: make someone miserable. They do. Themselves!
Acting out of spite is harmful because it grows out of anger and leads to sin rather than reconciliation. The scriptures teach all believers to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger” and instead practice kindness and forgiveness (see Ephesians 4:31-32). Spite fuels division, hardens the heart, and keeps people from living in the love and mercy God calls them to show. Put away all bitterness.
Have a blessed week in Jesus' Name, Amen.
(Article/ extract from ucb,wordfortoday)
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Did you know: There are almost 20 different passages in the Bible where it is mentioned that we are God's people.
Ref: Jeremiah 32:38 / Ezekiel 14:11 / Zechariah 8:8 / 2 Corinthians 6:16 / Hebrews 8:10 / Ezekiel 11:20 / Ezekiel 37:23 / Jeremiah 7:23 / Jeremiah 31:33 / Ezekiel 37:27 / Jeremiah 31:1 / Revelation 21:3 / Exodus 6:7 / Leviticus 26:12 / Jeremiah 11:4 / Jeremiah 30:22 / Ezekiel 36:28.