Forgive me not...

Matthew 18:21-22 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.

WAIT!!! SOME of you may have just got turned off because you think the bible is a bunch of whatever, and so forth...so I got a couple quotes for ya'll too.

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." Ghandi

“Sincere forgiveness isn't colored with expectations that the other person apologize or change. Don't worry whether or not they finally understand you. Love them and release them. Life feeds back truth to people in its own way and time.” Sarah Paddison

So there, you can stay...
I have been a slave to unforgiveness for a very long time...and not because I WANTED to not forgive...but because the pain that I felt from the things that were "done to me" was so deep, so very, very deep, and I felt like I needed to see some sort of repercussions...something, anything that let me know they paid or were paying for being so careless with my feelings...guess what? They kept going with their lives...and I was waiting for a sincere apology, an explanation, a sign of change...wrong thing to do.
Unforgiveness...the single most deadly poison in the world today...it keeps you bound to a person, it stops you from thinking clearly, it hinders relationships, friendships, it makes people not want to be around you...
You see them, with their friends, who are sometimes also your friends, and you want them to not like them either, you want them to be isolated, cast out for their treachery, ignorance, lies, and all the hurt they caused you...and that causes further pain, because you don't understand why no one sees your side, right? Sucks to be you, because no one else is punishing them for what you did...we always need to SEE some sort of punishment when someone has "done us wrong"...well for those who are Christians...we know we may not always see it, but God said that vengeance is His...and then too, we know that God had every right to show them the grace and mercy He showed us when we slept with his/her girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife, when we lied, cheated...hmmm? Those are the things we forget...we always want someone to forgive us, but we have a hard time forgiving...remembering what we have done...and showing others mercy...

Yeah, we know, you don't let anyone get away with playing you...no one hurts your pride, no one embarrasses you...ok...that mentality will have you in an early grave. The funny thing is, the bible TELLS us, that if you can't swallow ya little bit of pride and forgive, God will NOT forgive you, and you know what that leads to.

There are just so many things that have happened to and around me lately...and it's all made my eyes open up.

Look at how unforgiveness has ravaged your neighborhoods, families, churches...because parents can't forgive, they can't teach their kids to, and because their kids don't learn forgiveness, they shoot someone else's child, and kill them, and that creates a cycle...

Because the church can't forgive, that person who once loved the Lord has been driven back to their old habits, and is now poisoning everyone they meet with words of hatred, bitterness and anger toward a CHURCH...because the church won't forgive, God can't trust them with his precious children...the ones who are so hungry for something, yet we can't feed them because we don't know how to treat each other...the ones at home, the ones we see every day...a lot of us have a lot of encouragement for those we don't know...try that with your friends, family...the ones in your immediate circle...

I'm just saying...there are people who DON'T HAVE A HOME, who don't have jobs, who don't have money, who can't feed, clothe their kids. People who can't afford for their child to get sick, who don't have cars, and have to travel in this ridiculous weather on foot every day, people who have no hope, people who can't worry about what someone did to them because they need to figure out where they are going to sleep, eat, lay, work every day...yet you clearly have enough food, money, leisure time to sit and let negative feelings for someone fester and boil, and turn us into ugly, uncaring, unpleasant, bitter, hateful people, when we can be helping those less fortunate...that's what it's all about right? Let's grow up.

We've all been hurt, and we can't change what someone's done...but we CAN change how much control that hurt will have over our lives.


Jesus said to turn the other cheek

He also said to forgive 7 times 70

Easy for Him to say

He was God

Or at least the son of God



How do I get to the place

Where I forgive those

Who disrespect me and malign me

Those who could care less about my feelings

Yet I still care about theirs



Why is forgiveness so hard

Why does it take so much out of you

Why is it easier to hold on to a grudge

Rather than to let it go

Am I doing something wrong



If it is true that we are to love others

As we love ourselves

And we stay mad at ourselves

For our misdeeds and misdoing

Is it realistic to easily forgive someone



If you extend the olive branch

Of friendship and kindness and forgiveness

And it is not returned

Should you really keep trying

Even if you feel it is a lost cause



Or will persistence win the day

With the honesty and sincerity of words

Be recognized and acknowledged

Followed by a reasonable attempt

To let bygones be bygones



Is this one of the famous battles

Between head and heart

With both having opposing views

But the same hold on your psyche

Neither winning, neither losing



Sometimes I wonder

If our lack of ability to forgive

Is truly more rooted in our

Bruised ego and hurt feelings

Perhaps the pain we feel is comforting



If I were to release my anger and my pain

Only to be knocked again

Who becomes the bigger fool

Me for trying

Or them for doing



I wish that such matters were as easy

As a game of tic-tac-toe

Or perhaps it is

Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose

Neither happens if you don’t take a chance



So I resolve to forgive

To be the bigger and better person

Give of myself as I would want others

To give to me

And perhaps this time everyone will win.