If you have ever watched anything connected with Tyler Perry, rather its his movies, T.V. Shows, or his plays, one of the messages you can definitely find is forgiveness. Webster defines "forgive" to mean to give up resentment against or the desire to punish; to stop being angry with. I know of people that hadn't forgiven people that's died and gone on. Now the Bible says in Matthew 6:14-15, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." By those two verses alone, you see it's important that you forgive others.
If Joseph's brothers, after all he went through, what excuse do we have? Joseph's brothers were jealous of him because "Israel loved Joseph more than all his children." (Genesis 37:3) Most of this brothers wanted Joseph killed. They even sold Joseph. After all that Joseph forgave them. Some of us can't even forgive someone for stepping on our toe. We must have a forgiving spirit. Specifically for your enemies. Proverbs 25:21-22 says, "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his heard, and the Lord shall reward thee." In other words, you're killing with kindness, and by doing that, you can cause a change in your enemy's life.
That last part of Jeremiah 31:34 says, "...saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Yet when some of us "forgive" somebody we hold it over their head. Some of us really got to learn to let stuff go. God forgives and forgets, why can't we? Some of us really got to learn the value of patience when we forgive. For the most part, people are not going to change overnight. Ecclesiastes 7:9 says, "Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: For anger resteth in the bosom of fools" That is where wisdom comes in. Having wisdom gives you patience. We don't like being called fools, so stop being one. I know from personal experience that holding in anger causes sleepless nights. It causes you not to be comfortable in your own home, or in your own church. Stop letting what other people did to you keep you from moving on with your life.
We all know about the Taylor Swift/Kanye West situation. Despite what Kanye did, Taylor has to forgive and move on, or it will eat away at her career. She probably has already, I don't know, but I'm just saying. For me to move on with my life, I got to forgive all the people that's ever talked down on me. I got to forgive everybody that's broke my heart. I believe that if one does not learn to forgive, it can lead to the grave. There's no need going to the grave holding grudges. You have a life ahead of you, and forgiveness is an important step to living.
Stay Saved,
Daniel Richerson
