Forgiving others (1)
2022-02-25Romans 12:19 NLT
Long after we think we’ve forgiven someone, we can still be harbouring hard feelings. Some indicators that we still have work to do are these: 1) We keep thinking about the people who’ve hurt us and become resentful. 2) We avoid them. 3) We rehearse the incident mentally, replaying it in our minds, and bring it up in conversation. 4) We take every opportunity to remind the people who’ve hurt us of what they did. What we’re actually doing is trying to justify our unforgiving attitude.
There are two things God won’t share. 1) The praise that’s due to Him. ‘I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise’ (Isaiah 42:8 NLT). 2) The right to ‘settle the score’. Paul wrote: ‘Never take revenge…The Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads. Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good’ (Romans 12:19-21 NLT). So forgive, hand the situation over to God, and trust Him to work it out.
When ‘people insulted Christ…he did not insult them in return…He let God…who judges rightly, take care of him’ (1 Peter 2:23 NCV). Resentment chains us, and we end up as a hostage to unforgiveness. Dwelling on something that someone did to us, or how someone took credit for our work, or what someone has said about us, makes us – not them – miserable. We walk around angry, and they don’t even know we’re upset. Let’s resolve not to allow anyone to have that kind of control over us. Instead, forgive, leave the situation with God, and move on.