Extra Baggage
And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. Mark 11:25,26
We make the mistake of equating "forgiveness" (for a wrong that has been done to us) as dismissal of the guilty party's responsibility for their actions. It is not! We are also so foolish as to think that "forgiving" someone means "forgetting" what they did. You'll have people tell you that it isn't forgiveness if you remember the deed. How many ways can I say "WRONG"? Forgiveness does not mean forgetting. But what forgiveness does mean is, when we forgive those who have wronged us, whatever the deed, we release ourselves from allowing what they have done to rule (and ruin) our hearts, our minds, our lives and the lives of those around us! Forgiveness is not the wiping out of misdeeds against us. Forgiveness is not forgetting. Forgiveness is giving peace back to ourselves. Forgiveness is a separation from that which (if we insist on harboring it in our heart) will sour our world, invade our dreams, occupy our conscious thoughts, steal our joy and seriously affect our Christian witness.
The story is told of a teacher who asked her students to bring a bag of potatoes to school with them. Each student was told to make a list of any person they refused to forgive. Each name was then carved into a potato, and put into a bag, which that person had to keep with them for a week. No exceptions, wherever they went, no matter whose company they were in or what they were doing, that bag of potatoes had to be kept at their side at all times. Needless to say, it didn't take long for the potatoes to begin to deteriorate. Still, they had to lug that bag of potatoes around. They had to keep track of it. They could not forget it despite any embarrassment it might cause nor the complaints of those around them about the smell of decay. How many of us have sniffed the air about ourselves lately? Is there the stench of decay around? Could it be due to that which we insist on harboring against others? Have we taken up residence on Down In The Dumps Avenue?
Forgiveness is not easy, but as long as we harbor hatred and resentment in our hearts toward someone, they and what they have done WILL RULE OUR LIVES! Forgiveness toward another gives us power to overcome that which has been done to us and to move forward in our lives. Doesn't mean we will forget--how very ignorant to suggest such a thing! But I can tell you from firsthand experience, hatred and bitterness will destroy a person's life as completely, as thoroughly, as anything else I know. I would far rather forgive a person for what they have done to me and not have to remind myself to hate them. You say you don't have to be reminded to hate? Then hatred has already set up housekeeping in your existence and until you rid yourself of it, you will NEVER be who you could be. Whether you believe it or not, those who love you, those who truly care for you, will suffer because of it. I say all this, not because I have never witnessed or been a victim of hurt, pain, and terror. I have. Firsthand. For many many years I clung to it, reminding myself to not be too happy, or I might forget that I was supposed to hate so-and-so. Wouldn't want others to see me happy--they might think I had forgiven so-and-so, "let them off the hook" so to speak. What I didn't understand was, when I impaled that person I hated on that hook of hate, I FASTENED MYSELF THERE, TOO! You see, to remember to hate them, they had to be present in my thoughts, which meant I was thinking of them a lot more than they deserved to be!
There aren't many folks reading this, I am sure, who have not heard "The Lord's Prayer." Have you truly paid attention to And forgive us our debts, AS we forgive our debtors? (Matthew 6:12). Follow up on it: For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive NOT men their trespasses, NEITHER will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14,15. What???!! Well, you read it. What the prayer says is, "Father, forgive us as we forgive others." Ugh oh. In trouble, again! Bottom line: If you don't forgive others, God won't forgive you. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But IF ye do NOT forgive, NEITHER will your Father which is in heaven forgive YOUR trespasses. Mark 11:25,26. Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21,22. Do what? 490 times? Are you kidding? We have a problem with once, twice, three times for the same person. Four hundred and ninety times? Jesus offered a wonderful example of why we are supposed to forgive others which you will find in Matthew 18:23-35. I strongly encourage you to look it up. You might say, "Well, this is talking about forgiving other Christians. The person who did such and such is not a Christian. Where did you read that? Let's look at Mark 11:25,26 one more time: And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against ANY: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
When we refuse to forgive, we're into the revenge factor, which is just another form of hatred. Dearly beloved, avenge NOT yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be NOT overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:19-21. Doesn't matter which version of the Bible you use, that is very plain and easy to understand. Forgiveness towards another doesn't mean you shouldn't allow the law, which God has ordained as having authority over us, to run its due course. It doesn't mean that person should not have to face up to what they have done and be made to pay for their wrong deeds. That is God's vengeance, here on earth, through His ordained authority. And further, if that person does not commit their life to Christ, does not ask forgiveness of their own sins, God will exact another toll from them: eternal damnation. Each and every one of us will face our own judgment before God. Everybody! As in E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y. Don't carry that extra weight, that extra baggage of hatred against someone. Remember, forgiveness is not only what we have been taught is the true and God-ordered thing to do, but FORGIVENESS IS A GIFT WE GIVE OURSELVES!. When we forgive someone for what they have done to us, we sever the rule they have over our lives. Yes, God's Grace IS sufficient for us, but ONLY if we let it be!
(all emphasis on scriptures, such as bold, underline or uppercase, is mine) "Extra Baggage" Copyright © 2000 by Patricia Sikes. All Rights Reserved.
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