Detoxifying from BITTERNESS
by Alvin Lagamon
Have you ever experienced eating a piece of bread and finding out much later that it had molds?
Or probably eaten sardines that have already expired?
Or maybe even fall victim to food poisoning?
When we intake food that has already expired or has molds, we usually experience the worst: stomachaches, endless vomiting and possibly hospitalization. If we don't do something, we'll end up hurt and just plain sad.
Similar to the emotional and spiritual toxins left unattended within us and the focus of this blog is the toxin named BITTERNESS.
No, we're not talking about that flavor.
It's that emotional toxin almost everyone has experienced.
Let's be honest: everyone has already experienced hurt. We have been back-stabbed, friendzoned, shunned unto one side, taken for granted, etc. Being offended is inevitable. Most of the time, the people closest to us are the ones who hurt us.
There's only 2 ways to respond whenever we're hurt:
To forgive or not to forgive?
That is the question.
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Matthew 18:21-22
When we consider forgiving someone, we hesitate. We think that they might just take advantage of us again or we're just giving them the chance to hurt as for another time. Jesus' disciple, Peter, might have thought of the same thing when he asked this question.
Jesus answered by telling Peter he needed to forgive seventy-seven times. In other translations, it's seventy times seven.
He was not being specific, telling Peter to forgive 77 or 490 times. The main point was he had to forgive endlessly, which was not the norm during those days. What kind of person forgives endlessly?
A radical type of person, that's who.
Why should we forgive?
I. Forgive because we are forgiven
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant begins in Matthew 18:24 with a servant who owed his master 10,000 talents. 10,000 talents is no small amount. 1 talent is equivalent to 20 years of wage. It's an amount that is impossible to pay.
The servant knew he was in big trouble.
And he was.
The master ordered death for him and his family but the servant dropped down on his knees and begged for his life.
Surprisingly, the master did the following:
Matthew 18:27
He was forgiven!
Just like that!
The parable illustrates our reality. The Gospel tells us that we are indebted to God. Our sin has pronounced us guilty and worthy to be sent to hell. We cannot save ourselves. But God, out of His infinite wisdom and mercy, chose to save us from our deaths.
Forgave us for our sins.
Which is why we have to forgive...because we are forgiven.
13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:13
II. Not forgiving = Major suffering
The parable of the unmerciful servant continues:
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[c] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
Matthew 18:28
Despite the forgiveness he received, the servant failed in reciprocating it to his fellow servant who owed him a meager hundred of silver coins. He threw his fellow servant to jail due to this fault. His refusal to pardon his fellow earned him a major suffering.
31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
Matthew 18:34-35
Harboring pain against people doesn't hurt them. In fact, it only hurts us even more. We have to forgive those who hurt us if we want to move on. As one quote goes: "It's like setting a prisoner free and finding out that the prisoner is you."
Set yourself free from all the grudge. As Jesus forgives us over and over again, so should we. You may think that justice will not be served if we forgive.
18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[a] says the Lord
Romans 12:18-19
God doesn't forget. He will not let you down.
So, let go.
Forgive.
Forget.
Move on.
Written by Ashley Petallano (c) 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment