Resentment leads people to do things they shouldn’t do, act in ways they shouldn’t act, and use others in order to seek revenge on those who have hurt them. As believers, we must not allow resentment to drive our decisions and our emotions. We must respond to those who have hurt us in ways that honor God. This is the direction I am taking this week with LifeWay's Explore the Bible Study as I lead our group to study 2 Samuel 15:10-30.

As you teach this passage, consider all the ways that people are expressing resentment today. We live in a culture today that seems to honor those who lash out at others because of resentment. They are applauded in the media, honored in ceremonies, and given national platforms. They use their resentment and anger to drag others into their schemes and plans.

Help your group understand that we can't allow resentment to be our mode of operation in life. We can't allow others' resentment, whether it be toward an individual, a church leader, a family member, a social injustice, or any other situation, to manipulate us into acting in ways that don’t honor God.

We can learn a lot in the passage as we examine the resentment of Absalom and the way David responded. Observe in the passages how others responded to Absalom and David as well.

WORD PRONUNCIATIONS
Click on each word to listen to the pronunciation

• Ahithophel
• Cherethite
• Pelethite
• Ittai
• Hushai

APPLICATION IDEAS
The downloadable teaching ideas provide the following that could be used to help the group to personally make application.

Ask: What can we learn regarding how to respond when people refuse to forgive and their resentment builds toward us? How can we guard our hearts from the festering seeds of resentment?

Apply (Consider assigning to individuals, partners, or groups): How can these verses help us deal with resentment? Mark 11:25; 1 Peter 5:10; Ephesians 4:31; Hebrews 12:15; 1 Peter 2:23; Romans 3:10; 1 Timothy 2:8

MAP OPTION
The following image could be used to help the group contextualize what was taking place as David climbed the Mount of Olives after leaving The City of David (2 Samuel 15:30). The image is taken from the direction of The City of David, looking out over the Mount of Olives as it looks today.


Here are the fruits of resentment in Absalom’s life: He turned on others, including family. He compromised God’s standards in order to fulfill his own agenda. He used people in order to exact his revenge. He convinced himself that he could do a better job than his dad. Absalom’s growing resentment led him to take what wasn’t his in order to exact revenge on his father, David.

I pray this session will help you and your group to wrestle with the issue of resentment and how to overcome and respond to it.