Devotion 7/17, Bitterness, Hatred and Forgiveness
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you”. Ephesians 4:31-32
At times I carry such bitterness, disgust and hatred towards such acts as intentionally flying into the twin towers, assassinations and those that attempt them, those that condon such acts and and those that use their platforms and rhetoric to enflame and divide people.
But, I carry guilt for such feelings because I know that our Savior calls on us to forgive as in our scripture today.
Hebrews 12:15b-
“Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many”.
Is this the hardest lesson in the Bible? Possibly. It is the ultimate acceptance of Romans 12:1, “present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” It is so difficult to follow that very few churches will even preach it, for fear that the congregation will say “that’s ridiculous” and leave.
But this is exactly what Paul, and Peter, and Jesus himself did. For most of us, it is a goal that we must strive towards, and it becomes extraordinarily hard when heinous acts are involved. You will find Christian teachers finding a thousand excuses why this does not apply.
Yet, it is exactly what Christ commands us to do: not to be overcome by evil—in this case, not to let the most evil of actions separate us from Christ—but, instead, to overcome evil with good. Hatred and the desire for vengeance can be an overwhelming emotion. But when we experience it, we must pray that the object of our hatred, both sins of ignorance and deliberate sin, be forgiven, as Jesus did while being crucified at the height of His agony, when He said “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
And it starts with us, brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called to follow Jesus’ example, the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen!
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