The Folly Of Bitterness

The Folly of Bitterness

Read: Luke 6:35-38

“Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Luke 6:37

“Forgiveness saves us the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.”

—Hannah More

IN WORD Why do we hang on to bitterness the way we do? We nurse our resentments and cultivate them as though they are doing us a favor. We harbor grudges, often remembering offenses for years. We act as if our mental punishment of someone else somehow brings them to justice. But we deceive ourselves. Bitterness eats away at our lives, stealing our joy and eroding our sense of peace, while never—not once—hurting the one we resent.

This is such a pitiful human tendency, and yet we have all done it. We let offenses—large and small, real and imagined—rob us of the joy God means for us to have. How can we possibly understand God’s forgiveness this way? When we focus on judgment and justice toward others, can we ever understand God’s mercy toward us? Do we really imagine that those who have sinned against us have sinned greatly, while our offenses against God are minor and easy for Him to overlook? If so, we have it backward. Our sins against God, no matter how small, are offenses against the eternal, infinite Being. They therefore required an eternal, infinite sacrifice. Offenses against us pale in comparison.

Jesus’ parable of the man who owed the king the ridiculously large amount of ten thousand talents (Matthew 18:23-35) should hit home. He was forgiven his huge debt, only to go out and hold minor accounts against his debtors. His story is our story, at least until we learn better. We underestimate the offense of our sins against God and overestimate the offenses of others against us.

IN DEED Far from being a legal prerequisite for our own forgiveness, Jesus’ command to forgive others prepares us to understand the gospel. The God of extravagant mercy asks us only to get a glimpse of His grace. Do you hold any grudges against others? Get a glimpse of God’s mercy by forgiving them.