The wages of unforgiveness

Way back in the early days of this blog (January of 2011 to be exact) I wrote on the subject of forgiveness.  My dad remarked on that particular blog by commenting how difficult it is to practice forgiveness.  How it is easier to speak of forgiveness than to actually do it.  Of course, he was right.  However, I want you to know this about my dad: he was hurt on several occasions.  I’m not going to elaborate on the details because there’s no point in doing so.  But in those episodes in his life, my dad could have held on to the anger, but he didn’t.  He chose another path: the route of forgiveness.

Jeff Dunn and Adam Palmer have an outstanding excerpt on this subject.  In their book, “The Soul of Spider-Man”, they remark on both the virtues of forgiveness and the perils of unforgiveness (themes covered in the film Spider-Man 3).  They write,

“We like holding onto anger; bitter herbs taste sweet at first...Bitterness grips us firmly and affects every area of our lives.  If bitterness is the root, what will the fruit of the tree be like?  An apple tree has apple tree roots.  It produces juicy apples, good to eat.  But if the roots are bitter, the fruit of that tree will be bitter.  In other words, if you allow anger to take root, all areas of your life will eventually taste bitter.”

I’ll never forget the sermon from a pastor from yesteryear.  He spoke of how the tentacles of bitterness will begin to grow and take over every facet of life.  Be it emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, and even physically.  At one point, he describes the person who can’t even enjoy the pleasure of eating a scrumptious meal because the person he is bitter toward “won’t permit me to enjoy its taste.”

What is the prescription for such a condition?  In that blog in 2011, I stated that the Bible says forgiveness is the response we are to have whenever we are hurt. Colossians 3:13 says, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”  That verse has been poignant for me in my life.  Since God has forgiven me the enormous sin debt I owed Him; how could I possibly withhold forgiveness to others?  Since He was the One who took the first step to initiating a friendship, reconciliation, and fellowship with Him, how could I not “forgive as the Lord forgave [me]”?

Kevin

“To err is human; to forgive, divine” – Alexander Pope (1688-1744)