Hatred is the Rabid Dog that Turns on its Owner - Christian or not

"Happy are the merciful.”  Matthew 5:7

A man once said to John Wesley, "I never forgive.”  Wesley replied, "Well, sir, I hope that you never sin."

Mercy is when you chose to forgive someone who has hurt you, expecting nothing in return.  Somewhere along the way, you have been hurt by someone in your life.  You have been you have been criticized, lied to... betrayed...  gossiped about... your good name has been slandered...  your character has been called into question... someone you thought was a friend has stabbed you in the back... someone has cheated you or worst - cheated on you...  You have been hurt.  I could quote verse after verse from the Bible on why we should forgive (just start with James 2:13, Colossians 3:13, & Mathew 18:35), but instead this message will focus on the practical reason to chose the path of forgiveness. 

Let's admit it, it would be easier if the person who hurt you came and got on their knees, acknowledged the guilt for what they have done, and begged you for your forgiveness (but that's not going to happen) but even then, FORGIVENESS IS HARD.  Because when a wrong has been committed, or worst yet, when evil has lashed out at you, someone has to pay the price for it, and when someone has hurt us, the natural human inclination is to pay him or her back.  At a minimum, we want to get even.   

 

However, when you make the choice to forgive, you are electing to release those who have hurt you from their obligation to suffer the consequences and instead you take that cost upon yourself.  If you choose to continue in your desire to seek revenge, then you have chosen the path of resentment; and resentment is where you let your hurt become hate.  If you have grown bitter toward someone, has it done you any good?  Has resentment brought you any relief from your hurt?  Has hatred toward the person who hurt you resulted in any peace or joy for you?  No, no and no!  "Hatred is the rabid dog that turns on its owner.  Revenge is the raging fire that consumes the arsonist.  Bitterness is the trap that snares the hunter."  Max Lucado

Resentment does not work.  It cannot change the past or the person who hurt you.  Resentment cannot take away your hurt.  It just causes you to nurse your grudge and become bitter in the process.  How's that working out for you?  We are talking about the hurt that others have inflicted on you.  But in one sense, if you do not let go of your resentment, you are inflicting emotional pain on yourself, and those you love; which, in many cases, is worse than the way that someone else hurt you.

By not letting go of your resentment, you have chained yourself to the past.  You are re-living the hurt day after day.  You are re-opening the wound every time.  Whereas the person hurt you once; by holding onto the hurt, you are hurting yourself with it over and over again.

Resentment does not make you feel any better.  In fact, it makes you feel worse. Joyfulness is the promise for those who are merciful and forgiving.  It is just the opposite for those who will not forgive.  Resentment leaves you miserable and bitter.  Have you ever known someone who says, "You know, I feel so much better being resentful"?  I haven't, but I have met many bitter, unhappy people.

In my life, much of the hurts that weighted me down for so long, were those hurts that were left un-forgiven, not because I couldn't forgive, but rather because I wouldn't forgive, and it brought me to the brink of utter destruction.  In the course of my journey I have learned that forgiveness is not saying that what was done against you was okay, or pretending that you have not been hurt; and while you may walk with shadows of that hurt for the rest of your life,  it does not have to be your life.  

The Greek word for forgiveness means, "to release” isn't it time to release the hurt.