Un-forgiveness is such a heavy, unnecessary burden to
carry. Even if you have the right to be
angry, do you have the right to withhold forgiveness? If you know the story of Joseph you know that
he had plenty of reasons not to forgive his brothers. But he forgave them as it shows in the
following scriptures: Gen 50:15-20 15
And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, It may be
that Joseph will hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we did
unto him. 16 And they sent a message unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did
command before he died, saying, 17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the
transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for that they did unto thee evil.
And now, we pray thee, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of
thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. 18 And his brethren also
went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we are thy servants.
19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 And as
for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to
pass, as it is this day, to save much
people alive. ASV
What would have happened if Joseph not only did not forgive
his brothers but allowed what they did to him keep him from fulfilling the
purpose God had for him? Joseph was
thrown into a pit and abandoned by his brothers, sold into slavery and later imprisoned. Those things alone would give anybody the
reason to be angry for a lifetime. Joseph did not let those dire circumstances
cause him to become bitter and full of hatred.
In fact, when he saw his brothers again after some years, he was happy
to see them. Can you imagine being happy
to see the person that mistreated you and sold you into slavery?
How can you, at this day and age be sold into slavery? The answer is un-forgiveness. Let’s say, for example, you’re going along
with your life just fine and then you see the person that did you wrong or someone
says something that triggers a bad memory?
All the hurt and bad feelings that you thought were dealt with come raging
back to the surface and you find yourself angry again. That, my friend, is the bondage of
un-forgiveness. Un-forgiveness has friends,
too! One of them is sickness. In the
article Granting Forgiveness or Harboring Grudges: Implications for Emotion,
Physiology, and Health by Charlotte van Oyen Witvliet it describes the result
of research done on forgiveness. It
states “This study examined the immediate emotional and physiological effects
that occurred when participants (35 females, 36 males) rehearsed hurtful
memories and nursed grudges (i.e., were unforgiving) compared with when they cultivated
empathic perspective taking and imagined granting forgiveness (i.e., were
forgiving) toward real-life offenders. Unforgiving thoughts prompted more
aversive emotion, and significantly higher corrugator (brow) electromyogram
(EMG), skin conductance, heart rate, and blood pressure changes from baseline.
The EMG, skin conductance, and heart rate effects persisted after imagery into
the recovery periods. Forgiving thoughts prompted greater perceived control and
comparatively lower physiological stress responses. The results dovetail with
the psychophysiology literature and suggest possible mechanisms through which
chronic unforgiving responses may erode health whereas forgiving responses may
enhance it.” It goes on to say this: ‘forgiveness
"may free the wounded person from a prison of hurt and vengeful emotion,
yielding both emotional and physical benefits, including reduced stress, less
negative emotion, fewer cardiovascular problems, and improved immune system
performance. . .”
There’s a saying “Forgiveness sets two people free”. Make a point to set someone free today. Forgive and cast the sin into the depths of
the sea.
Suggested reading: The story of Joseph Genesis chapters 37, 39-45, Matthew 18:21-35, Micah 7:18-19
