We Have To Forgive

Good Monday Morning, I pray everyone had a blessed and restful weekend. I am sure a lot of you watched the Superbowl Game Sunday and hoping your chosen team would win. So, I hope that went well for you. This morning I would like to share a message I shared on a prayer line last year. I had saved it in my file on my computer so I just copied and pasted it on my blog. It’s not that long of a read, it just appears that way because it is all capitalized. I have posted on the importance of forgiving last year, but I would like to post on it again. Because forgiving is a something we have to do, it is not a choice. We have to forgive if we want God to forgive us.

I WOULD LIKE TO TALK A FEW MINUTES ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DON’T FORGIVE AND NOT JUST PEOPLE WHO HAVE OFFENDED US BUT FORGIVING OURSELVES AS WELL.  THE DEFINITION OF UNFORGIVENESS IS: UNWILLING OR UNABLE TO FORGIVE. FORGIVENESS HAS MANY DIFFERENT FACES, BUT SOME OF THE MOST COMMON ONES WE SEE OR EXPERIENCE EVERYDAY ARE ANGER, BITTERNESS, GRUDGES AND HATE. DO YOU KNOW OF ANYONE OR EVEN ALLOW YOURSELF TO WEAR ANY OF THESE FACES? IF SO, YOU HAVE BASICALLY MADE THE DECISION TO SELF INJECT POISON INTO YOUR OWN BODY. I LOVE THE WAY JOYCE MEYER DESCRIBES UNFORGIVENESS IN HER BOOK, BEAUTY FOR ASHES. SHE SAYS “HARBORING UNFORGIVENESS IS LIKE DRINKING POISON AND HOPING YOUR ENEMY WILL DIE!” WOW, THAT PRETTY MUCH SUMS IT ALL UP. YOU DRINK POISON EXPECTING IT TO KILL THE OTHER PERSON, WHICH IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. BUT IT WILL KILL YOU IF YOU ALLOW IT TO GROW, BECAUSE UNFORGIVENESS CAN BECOME A VERY SERIOUS HEALTH HAZARD, VERY TOXIC.

LET’S TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT THESE FOUR FACES OF UNFORGIVENESS:

ANGER: STRONG EMOTIONAL REACTION OF DISPLEASURE, OFTEN LEADING TO PLANS FOR REVENGE OR PUNISHMENT.

BITTERNESS: ANGER AND DISAPPOINTMENT OF BEING TREATED UNFAIRLY.

GRUDGE: TO GRUMBLE OR MURMUR AT ANY PERSON OR THING, TO ENTERTAIN AN ENVIOUS OR COVETOUS FEELING, TO DO OR GIVE ANYTHING UNWILLINGLY.

HATE: A STRONG DISLIKE OR ILL WILL TOWARD PERSONS OR THINGS.

ALL OF THIS COMES FROM UNFORGIVENESS. AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, HARBORING UNFORGIVENESS IN YOUR HEART IS NOT A GOOD THING. IT DOESN’T HURT THE OTHER PERSON, IT ONLY HURTS YOU. YOU HAVE TO LET IT GO AND FORGIVE.

GOD EVEN INSTRUCTS US TO FORGIVE AND WARNS US OF WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T IN MATTHEW 6:14-15 WHICH SAYS, “FOR IF YOU FORGIVE OTHER PEOPLE WHEN THEY SIN AGAINST YOU, YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER WILL ALSO FORGIVE YOU. BUT IF YOU DO NOT FORGIVE OTHERS THEIR SINS, YOUR FATHER WILL NOT FORGIVE YOU.” IF WE STOP AND THINK FOR A MINUTE, I AM SURE WE CAN REMEMBER A LOT OF UNFORGIVING THINGS WE ARE GUILTY OF, AND GOD STILL FORGAVE US. WE HAVE DONE THINGS THAT WE HAVEN’T FORGIVEN OUR OWN SELVES FOR, BUT GOD FORGAVE US. WE NEED TO DO LIKEWISE AND FORGIVE OTHERS. WHEN WE FORGIVE SOMEONE, IT IS NOT SO MUCH FOR THEM AS IT IS FOR US. ONCE WE HAVE FORGIVEN SOMEONE, WE HAVE RELEASED THAT PERSON TO GOD TO DO WHAT ONLY GOD CAN DO IN THEIR LIVES. AND THEN WE HAVE BEEN OBEDIENT TO GOD.

MATTHEW 18:21-22 SAYS “THEN PETER CAME UP AND SAID TO HIM, “LORD, HOW OFTEN SHALL MY BROTHER SIN AGAINST ME, AND I FORGIVE HIM? AS MUCH AS SEVEN TIMES?” JESUS SAID TO HIM, “I DO NOT SAY TO YOU SEVEN TIMES, BUT SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN.” IF YOU DO THE MATH, 70 x 7 = 490. SO, WE ARE TO FORGIVE EACH PERSON THAT OFFENDS US 490 TIMES.  I WENT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER INTO THE 70 x7 AND I FOUND THAT IT IS SYMBOLIC FOR INFINITY; CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO FORGIVE AN INFINITE NUMBER OF TIMES BECAUSE THAT IS THE NUMBER OF TIMES THEY ARE FORGIVEN BY GOD; WHEN A CHRISTIAN FAILS TO FORIVE, IT BECOMES INCONSISTENT WITH THE INFINITE FORGIVENESS OF GOD.

EPHESIANS 4:31-32 SAYS, “LET ALL BITTERNESS, WRATH, ANGER AND EVIL SPEAKING BE PUT AWAY FROM YOU, WITH ALL MALICE. BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER, TENDERHEARTED, FORGIVING ONE ANOTHER, AS GOD IN CHIRST FORGAVE YOU.”

2 CORINTHIANS 2:10-11 SAYS, ANYONE WHOM YOU FORGIVE, I ALSO FORGIVE. INDEED, WHAT I HAVE FORGIVEN, IF I HAVE FORGIVEN ANYTHING, HAS BEEN FOR YOUR SAKE IN THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST, SO THAT WE WOULD NOT BE OUTWITTED BY SATAN; FOR WE ARE NOT IGNORANT OF HIS DESIGNS.”

COLOSSIANS 3:12-13 SAYS, “PUT ON THEN, AS GOD’S CHOSEN ONES, HOLY AND BELOVED, COMPASSIONATE HEARTS, KINDNESS, HUMILITY, MEEKNESS, AND PATIENCE, BEARING WITH ONE ANOTHER AND, IF ONE HAS A COMPLAINT AGAINST ANOTHER, FORGIVING EACH OTHER; AS THE LORD HAS FORGIVEN YOU, SO YOU ALSO MUST FORGIVE.”

SO, WE CAN SEE THAT UNFORGIVENESS IS NOT A GOOD THING IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. THERE ARE SCRIPTURES AFTER SCRIPTURES IN THE BIBLE THAT TELLS US TO FORGIVE AND WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T FORGIVE. SO, IN MY CLOSING, JUST REMEMBER IT IS A LOT EASIER AND HEALTHIER TO JUST FORGIVE AND MOVE ON WITH GOD. HE WILL BE ABLE TO HELP YOU FORGIVE AND HELP THE PERSON YOU FORGAVE. GOD BLESS 🙂