angelaschmeling

Let me start with saying this. I dislike YouTube. A lot. I find it to be a black hole that sucks people in it with it’s video clip tentacles and then before you know it hours have passed by. You finally look away from the screen to realize that your hair has grown inches longer and there is an odor emitting from you that you never had before. Your spouse has gray hair and your kids have grown and left all the while you were watching these YouTube videos.

I jest of course, but you understand that it can truly be a time snatcher. Much as many things can. Pinterest is another one which is why I don’t often go on there. Facebook and Instagram are right up there as well.

But the basis of this is on YouTube. So, sorry, YouTube. And it’s mainly because of my middle child. She knows it. I tell her every day (or so it seems) that she gets into a YouTube loop. No matter how I block it and limit it, it finds a way.

But occasionally, she will find something that catches me. Makes me go, “huh….I have some thoughts on that and I could write on….”

Which brings me to this topic. The other day she showed me a video made off of Taylor Swift’s song This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things. I didn’t even hear the full song, the video was just based off of one of the verses and the end of that verse states:

‘Cause forgiveness is a nice thing to do….I can’t say that without laughing

Taylor Swift

My heart broke a little at this. I look around every day at our culture and see more and more how it is losing not only the beauty of forgiveness but the necessity of it! And this song just further pushes that. That forgiveness isn’t necessary. In fact, the very thought of forgiving someone is a laughable matter.

So let’s take a minute and ponder what unforgiveness truly does. It causes us to hold onto things. And when we hold onto those things, we keep hold of anger and bitterness towards the wrong that was done to us all the while thinking, “that’ll show them!”

But does it?

Not in the slightest.

And we laugh thinking that we are the ones that don’t need to forgive, but internally we are clinging to the hurt and the pain and growing cold in our heart.

The person you are holding that unforgiveness from may not even know it and if they do, they may not care. It may not even affect them at all.

So here we are, clutching this wrong that has been done with all the anger we can muster not realizing that that anger is spreading like a wildfire to those around us. Affecting people closest to us rather than the person that we refuse to forgive.

That hurt that we refuse to let go of.

I can understand this. I have been hurt many times, especially in regards to friendships. This has caused me to not be as open, to be guarded and place walls around my heart to protect myself. This has then in turn caused friendships not to flourish like they potentially could. Even cause me to shut people out that God has placed in my life to help me overcome the hurts of my past, but I have refused to let go.

It’s not easy when the pain is deep, but it’s important! And it’s a work in progress. I’m a work in progress.

I’m going to share a Bible story that is a great example of how we should forgive one another.

Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.

“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded.

But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened.

Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

Matthew 18:21-35

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.

You’ll never have to forgive ANYONE more than Christ forgave you!

How beautiful is that?

And if you want another incredible example of forgiveness, look at Jesus. He was hanging from a cross and asked God to forgive those that put Him there. (Luke 23:34)

I once heard an amazing analogy of unforgiveness.

Unforgiveness is like starting yourself on fire and hoping the other person will burn.

Let’s change the perspective that is rapidly entrapping our world to saying yes, Forgiveness IS a nice thing to do because forgiveness frees US more than anyone else.

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:31-32

We have been forgiven much, so let us forgive much!

…put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

Colossians 3:12-13

Forgiveness doesn’t mean that you have to be best friends again. Forgiveness doesn’t even mean that you have to hang out with that person or talk to them ever again. Forgiveness does mean that you let it go. (Queue Elsa Singing…lol)

Let the pain and the hurt go and rest in the joy and peace the Christ gives you freely.