1 Corinthians 13:5 “…It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
I walked past the living room several times to see my middle son sitting on the couch sulking. Each time I passed by, he gave me a sad look. Finally, I asked, “Why are you sitting here sulking? Get up and do something. Why don’t you go outside?” With a confused, yet happy look on his face, he asked “So am I off punishment?”
Aaaahhhh! I completely forgot that he had been on punishment that week. Earlier in the week, he chose to play video games instead of completing his assigned chores and cleaning the kitchen. That day, I really needed to come straight home from work to make dinner. I had an engagement I needed to get to by 7pm, which I couldn’t be late for. Not having the kitchen cleaned almost kept me from being able to do what I had planned. I was really frustrated and upset. It was a big deal, to me, at that moment, so I placed him on punishment.
Fast-forward three days later. The kitchen is cleaned, the event is over, and my memory of the situation is temporarily wiped clean. Something that was such a major offense to me, seemed so distant and minor just a few days later. Now I had a choice to make. Do I go back to being upset or do I let it go?
As we continue our teachings on forgiveness this week, I am reminded how much Love plays a role in our ability to forgive. We are commanded to “love our neighbor as we love ourselves”. Those we love and those that love us will eventually hurt us. When the hurt occurs, it may seem like the biggest offense in the world and we put our loved ones “on punishment”. After time, we look back and the offense is not as big as we may have felt it was, but that person is still left sitting on the couch sulking.
In one of the #MarriageWorkz sessions, we were reminded that 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that Love keeps no record of wrongs. It doesn’t say “unless that person really hurts you” or “unless you think they may do it again” or even “unless you need to prove a point”. Forgiving is a very difficult thing to do, but it can be done, with Love… God’s amazing, enduring, unconditional love. We all have a choice to let go of the small things or continue to hold our loved ones captive in the darkness of unforgiveness.
Are you holding a grudge over something that should have been let go a long time ago? Have you placed your husband, wife, friend, parent, child on “punishment” and have not talked to them? Do you need to simply forgive? Take a moment to give what you got, through Christ, to someone else… the gift of Grace! Help someone in your life off the couch.
God thank you for your love and amazing grace. Give us a heart like yours so that we may hold no record of wrongs against those we love. We ask in your son Jesus’ name. Amen
By: April Carter
