The Vindictive Worker

I consider myself a student of the human condition. For good reason! Far more than money or secular success, it is what we are as people that really matters. The qualities we cultivate have a far greater impact on personal happiness and stable relationships. I found a fascinating article regarding vindictive people and how their attitude plays in the workplace. A recent study on vindictiveness in the workplace draws some interesting conclusions.

"Vindictiveness doesn't pay. This has been demonstrated by a current study at Bonn and Maastricht Universities. According to this study, a person inclined to deal with inequity on a tit-for-tat basis tends to experience more unemployment than other people. Vindictive people also have less friends and are less satisfied with their lives. The study appears in the current edition of the Economic Journal."

Good reasons to avoid vindictiveness! While the article draws some good conclusions, it misapplies the Biblical concept of "an eye for an eye." The Law given to ancient Isreal did not issue this edict as a personal guide, but rather, a judicial one. It was up to the judges in Isreal to determine if the "eye for an eye" rule was to be applied in a criminal matter after hearing a case. It served as a deterrent to crime, not a basis for vigilante justice. In fact, the people were not to take matter into their own hands, nor were they to have a vindictive spirit.  "You must love your fellow as yourself" was the second-greatest commandment in all the Law. (Leviticus 19:18). This is the only legal code in existence that made expressing love for others an obligation under law. Imagine if our modern laws obligated us to love our fellowman!