Encouraged by God's Word

Posts Tagged ‘forgive and forget’

Hello Family,

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a permanent attitude.” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I read this statement by Dr. King in a book recently and it is very profound and really explains and defines the true essence of the word forgiveness. To most people to forgive is something that’s done in the moment when in reality it is ongoing.

We can’t forgive someone and the next time they mess up we throw it back in their face. We can’t keep a record of everyone’s wrongdoings in anticipation of them making the same mistake. We should ALWAYS have a permanent attitude of forgiveness and remember to let stuff go.

Now I have a question for you. I know you’ve heard the statement to forgive and forget but do people really forget? I personally don’t think so and that’s why forgiveness is ongoing. When we are hurt by someone, that sticks with us. It is imbedded in our memory especially if it was a traumatic situation.

Now since we can’t psychologically remove it from out memory, we probably need to redefine what it means to forget. To forget means that we won’t bring up another person’s mistakes and throw it back in their face when the opportunity comes. We will let the past stay in the past.

Ephesians 4:31-32 says 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.

The word is very clear that ALL bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking with all malice be put away from us. We should not harbor bad feelings towards anyone who wrongs us. Everything bad that they have done should not be carried around with us stinking up our lives. We need to let it go!

And once we let it go we should be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving. Not only should we let the funky stuff go we should be compassionate, loving and gentle to those whom we should forgive. We should love them.

Now if you let someone borrow your car and they get drunk and crash it, I don’t expect you to give them the keys to your new car the next time they need transportation. You may not forget what happened but you can forgive them and love them and pray that they get themselves together and stop drinking and that they purchase their own car. I’m just saying.

Anyway, forgive everyone just as God in Christ forgave us. Lord knows we need it because forgiveness is for us and not for the other person!

Be Encouraged and Forgive Everyone This Weekend!

P.S. Is there someone you need to forgive today? Leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you.