"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me."
~Matthew 25:40~
Bitterness!! We have the choice to forgive or become bitter!! Bitterness lurks at our door waiting to devour us in its clutches and cripple our mental, emotional, and physical health for the rest of our lives. Bitterness doesn't have to grasp its evil claws onto us, we can choose to live at peace with ourselves and others. Even if they never forgive us, we can forgive them.
Something that we sometimes don't realize is that the way we treat those around us, even those we love, is a direct gauge of our relationship with God.
"Consequently, to be at odds with a fellow Christian spells double trouble: not only are we at odds with our brother, but we are also at odds with Jesus in him!" (Forgiveness: How to Get Along With Everybody All the Time! By Harold Vaughan)
It is important to teach our children to forgive each other but it is far more important to keep short records ourselves, as an example for our children. More is taught than caught and our children learn best when we are not keeping them captive to a boring lesson when they can learn from the action of their parents. Ugh!!
When I have been offended, I have found it important to forgive that person. I haven't always found this to be easy. There have been times that it takes me hours to work through the situation and I have been known to stay up late, reading the bible and praying through until I work it out with the Lord.
When a person will not forgive you, or they have done wrong to you, it is still very important for you to forgive them whether or not they grant you forgiveness. If you don't, you will end up the worse-for-the-wear although you were not the one who gave the offense.
When a person will not forgive you, or they have done wrong to you, it is still very important for you to forgive them whether or not they grant you forgiveness. If you don't, you will end up the worse-for-the-wear although you were not the one who gave the offense.
Nursing homes are full of bitter old men and women. One day, when I am old, I want to be a blessing not lashing out in bitterness that has accumulated over the years.
How about you?? What do you do to make sure you don't become bitter??
How about you?? What do you do to make sure you don't become bitter??
~Judith~
Link Ups:
Quote: "Consequently, to be at odds with a fellow Christian spells double trouble: not only are we at odds with our brother, but we are also at odds with Jesus in him!"
ReplyDeleteThis is scary!
Thanks for sharing Judith... it's always a blessing to visit your blog and learn what the Lord has to teach us.
My pastor teaches us to keep short accounts, in other words, keep in a right relationship with those we love.
DeleteBitterness just kind of creeps up on one...it is good to keep it in check. Great reminder. With this mindset you will be the wonderful old woman in the nursing home all the nurses and dietary aids love to serve. Two of my kids work at a near care center and the stories they tell.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the God work.
I struggle with this often. I am good for about the first 7 times, but the x70 part is more challenging. As a young believer in the 80's it seems I heard a lot of teaching about holiness and keeping short accounts, but I haven't heard it lately. Thanks for the gentle reminder.
ReplyDeleteAfter a difficult few years with erring believers who wouldn't repent, but we had to continually forgive, my husband determined, "I will NOT die a bitter, old, man." His determination led the family to a place of healing, grace and mercy. The Lord led us to live in another place. :) Healing in a physical sense and a spiritual sense.
MommaMindy.wordpress.com
Oh, this is fabulous. I NEEDED this!!! I tend to "forgive" others, ya know? They've done ONE TOO MANY things, and this is the last straw. I'm angry towards them and then become kinda apathetic about them. I don't FEEL angry towards them, but I avoid them and try not to have to speak to them, etc. Little things they do annoy me, but I just justify my disgust by saying "Typical *them*." That is NOT true forgiveness. Thank you for pricking my heart unto repentance! I appreciate your example of forgiveness!
ReplyDeleteIt is late, or should I say early?! I have been so blessed by the thoughts you ladies shared today. I read them on and off today as I got tired and stopped by for a bloggie-break to read posts from YOUR blogs :-) You ladies are more of an encouragement to me than you'll ever know!!
ReplyDeleteJust for the record...What I write is what I have experienced or at least learned from experience. I can't write if I haven't first learned. If I haven't first sat at the feet of Jesus like Mary, I'll do others no good at all.
My pastor is teaching on Bitterness/Forgiveness again and refers often to a book he used about 7 or 8 years ago on Forgiveness that I linked.
I hope never to be in a nursing home...but we go to one once a month and over the years, I have seen two types of elderly people and I don't want to be the one who is bitter. It takes a lot of heart searching that is for sure!!
Good night ladies and hope to *see* you again.