Context No. 2866 of 4322 · 2 Maccabees

2 Maccabees 3:1-8: in context

1When the holy city was inhabited with unbroken peace and the laws were kept very well because of the godliness of Onias the high priest and his hatred of wickedness, 2it came to pass that even the kings themselves honored the place and glorified the temple with the noblest presents, 3so that even King Seleucus of Asia bore all the costs belonging to the services of the sacrifices out of his own revenues. 4But a man named Simon of the tribe of Benjamin, having been made guardian of the temple, disagreed with the high priest about the ruling of the market in the city. 5When he couldn’t overcome Onias, he went to Apollonius of Tarsus, who at that time was governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia. 6He brought him word how that the treasury in Jerusalem was full of untold sums of money, so that the multitude of the funds was innumerable, and that they didn’t pertain to the account of the sacrifices, but that it was possible that these should fall under the king’s power. 7When Apollonius met the king, he informed him of the money about which he had been told. So the king appointed Heliodorus, who was his chancellor, and sent him with a command to accomplish the removal of the reported money. 8So Heliodorus set out on his journey at once, ostensibly to visit the cities of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, but in fact to execute the king’s purpose.

For years Jerusalem enjoyed unbroken peace under the godly high priest Onias, and the laws were kept so well that even foreign kings honored the temple and paid for its sacrifices. Then trouble arrives, and it comes not from an outside enemy but from an insider's grudge. A man named Simon, thwarted in a petty dispute with Onias, turns informer.

Unable to win his quarrel, Simon goes to the foreign authorities and tells them the temple treasury is bursting with money that could be seized for the king. Heliodorus is dispatched to plunder it. Peace and godliness had held for a generation, and it took one disgruntled man, nursing a small resentment, to open the door to desecration. Grievances left to fester and then acted on can do damage far out of proportion to the trivial thing that started them.

Do I let a private grievance fester until I am willing to damage something good just to get back at someone?

Sources

2 Maccabees 3:4: "A man named Simon... disagreed with the high priest about the ruling of the market in the city."
James 3:16: "For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed."
Proverbs 6:34: "For jealousy arouses the fury of the husband. He won't spare in the day of vengeance."