Matthew 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Yes my Friends, on this beautiful, almost summer’s day, we’re continuing with the defining principle of Forgiveness in the Christian walk of faith. In response to yesterday’s Bit, one reader wrote asking if I didn’t find forgiveness tiring? I replied that it might be, but in the long run, in the overall scheme of things, it’s always in the forgiver’s best interest. Note, the ‘forgivee’ might not even know that you’re holding a grudge or some other negative emotion against them, and if they do know, they might not even care. So whom are you hurting if you choose not to forgive and keep all that negative emotion boiling and roiling in your soul? Please Friends, let’s remember one important thing here; when we forgive, we’re not always doing the other party a favour, sometimes yes, but in every case of forgiveness we’re doing ourselves a big favour, a great service, one of self preservation, escape from emotional dysfunction. We acknowledge that it’s not always easy, and it sometimes takes a while, but the sooner we embark on that journey of forgiveness, the better off we’ll be. This brings us to the second definition of Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) that I want to share with you. It’s Unforgiveness. Uncle Charles says it ‘is a wilful refusal to give up one’s resentment and the right to get even, based on the wrongful thought that somebody needs to pay.’ Oh my people, that is such a stupid, ignorant, selfish, unwise move! Why? It’s not only unwise in the realm of common sense, but more so in terms of Christian ethic. The worse belief we can ever hold is that someone always has to pay for a wrong. In theory it’s fine, but in actual practice it’s not always wise. Remember too, the Lord said that vengeance is His, and He will repay. (Rom.12:19) That brings us to one of Jesus’ many informative parables. Oh Friends, don’t you just LOVE the way Jesus taught? He always had a story or an example to further explain the principle He was teaching. This is the parable of Unforgiveness: re the servant who couldn’t repay his master a debt of ten thousand talents. But when the master ordered him, his family and all his possessions sold so that the money could be recouped, the servant fell down and begged for patience and time to repay. The master not only had compassion on him, but also forgave the entire debt. That’s certainly the kind of thing Jesus expects from us. Not necessarily to forgive the entire debt, but at least to have some empathy and patience, giving others a reasonable chance to repay their debts. But my people, what happened soon afterwards was despicable, and unfortunately, is too often reminiscent of our own behaviour. That servant came from his master’s presence and saw a fellow servant who owed him only a hundred pence, peanuts to what he owed the master. His reaction? He grabbed his debtor by the throat and demanded immediate payment. But when, like him, the second servant begged for time and patience, his reaction was to have him thrown in jail until he could repay. Oh Friends, does that behaviour sound familiar? I hope not. On a sidebar here though, it’s always ‘confuffled’ me, how in the old days they threw you into debtor’s prison until you paid your debt. Now how can you repay a debt if you’re in jail not earning anything eh? To my mind, if you’re outside, you stand a much better chance of earning money to repay it. But thankfully we’ve moved away from that crude, impractical attitude. However, getting back to the unforgiving servant. When his fellow servants saw how he treated his debtor, they went and told the master, who angrily blasted him. ‘O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Should not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due to him.’ And the moral of the story? Jesus put it thus: ‘So likewise shall my heavenly father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.’ Oh Friends, I can’t add anything to that. Jesus said it all, and the whole story can be found in Matthew 18:21-35. Please read it and inwardly digest what Jesus is saying: If we don’t forgive, we will not be forgiven. It’s as simple as that. Oh mih breddren, the hypocrisy that we revel in, of asking for forgiveness, then not offering the same to others is going to cause us pain and grief later on. Not only when we come to stand before Jesus on that judgement day, but it’s going to ricochet and boomerang on us right here on planet earth if we live long enough. For as another trite but true cliché points out: what goes around, comes around. And that’s the gospel truth Friends! So please, I’m imploring us to give up the habit of unforgiveness, to eliminate that hard bitter, selfish, unforgiving feeling from our hearts, souls and minds, cause it doesn’t reflect Christ or His principles, and it’s also very harmful to our physical and emotional well-being. Tomorrow, God willing, we’ll deal with the next definition. You’ll adore it. (smile) Till then, God Bless. And as always; Much LOVE!...unforgiveness…it’s the tool of Lucifer…not of Christ…
Yes my Friends, on this beautiful, almost summer’s day, we’re continuing with the defining principle of Forgiveness in the Christian walk of faith. In response to yesterday’s Bit, one reader wrote asking if I didn’t find forgiveness tiring? I replied that it might be, but in the long run, in the overall scheme of things, it’s always in the forgiver’s best interest. Note, the ‘forgivee’ might not even know that you’re holding a grudge or some other negative emotion against them, and if they do know, they might not even care. So whom are you hurting if you choose not to forgive and keep all that negative emotion boiling and roiling in your soul? Please Friends, let’s remember one important thing here; when we forgive, we’re not always doing the other party a favour, sometimes yes, but in every case of forgiveness we’re doing ourselves a big favour, a great service, one of self preservation, escape from emotional dysfunction. We acknowledge that it’s not always easy, and it sometimes takes a while, but the sooner we embark on that journey of forgiveness, the better off we’ll be. This brings us to the second definition of Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) that I want to share with you. It’s Unforgiveness. Uncle Charles says it ‘is a wilful refusal to give up one’s resentment and the right to get even, based on the wrongful thought that somebody needs to pay.’ Oh my people, that is such a stupid, ignorant, selfish, unwise move! Why? It’s not only unwise in the realm of common sense, but more so in terms of Christian ethic. The worse belief we can ever hold is that someone always has to pay for a wrong. In theory it’s fine, but in actual practice it’s not always wise. Remember too, the Lord said that vengeance is His, and He will repay. (Rom.12:19) That brings us to one of Jesus’ many informative parables. Oh Friends, don’t you just LOVE the way Jesus taught? He always had a story or an example to further explain the principle He was teaching. This is the parable of Unforgiveness: re the servant who couldn’t repay his master a debt of ten thousand talents. But when the master ordered him, his family and all his possessions sold so that the money could be recouped, the servant fell down and begged for patience and time to repay. The master not only had compassion on him, but also forgave the entire debt. That’s certainly the kind of thing Jesus expects from us. Not necessarily to forgive the entire debt, but at least to have some empathy and patience, giving others a reasonable chance to repay their debts. But my people, what happened soon afterwards was despicable, and unfortunately, is too often reminiscent of our own behaviour. That servant came from his master’s presence and saw a fellow servant who owed him only a hundred pence, peanuts to what he owed the master. His reaction? He grabbed his debtor by the throat and demanded immediate payment. But when, like him, the second servant begged for time and patience, his reaction was to have him thrown in jail until he could repay. Oh Friends, does that behaviour sound familiar? I hope not. On a sidebar here though, it’s always ‘confuffled’ me, how in the old days they threw you into debtor’s prison until you paid your debt. Now how can you repay a debt if you’re in jail not earning anything eh? To my mind, if you’re outside, you stand a much better chance of earning money to repay it. But thankfully we’ve moved away from that crude, impractical attitude. However, getting back to the unforgiving servant. When his fellow servants saw how he treated his debtor, they went and told the master, who angrily blasted him. ‘O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Should not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due to him.’ And the moral of the story? Jesus put it thus: ‘So likewise shall my heavenly father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.’ Oh Friends, I can’t add anything to that. Jesus said it all, and the whole story can be found in Matthew 18:21-35. Please read it and inwardly digest what Jesus is saying: If we don’t forgive, we will not be forgiven. It’s as simple as that. Oh mih breddren, the hypocrisy that we revel in, of asking for forgiveness, then not offering the same to others is going to cause us pain and grief later on. Not only when we come to stand before Jesus on that judgement day, but it’s going to ricochet and boomerang on us right here on planet earth if we live long enough. For as another trite but true cliché points out: what goes around, comes around. And that’s the gospel truth Friends! So please, I’m imploring us to give up the habit of unforgiveness, to eliminate that hard bitter, selfish, unforgiving feeling from our hearts, souls and minds, cause it doesn’t reflect Christ or His principles, and it’s also very harmful to our physical and emotional well-being. Tomorrow, God willing, we’ll deal with the next definition. You’ll adore it. (smile) Till then, God Bless. And as always; Much LOVE!...unforgiveness…it’s the tool of Lucifer…not of Christ…
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