Grudges vs. Forgiveness—Death vs. Life

The source of truth is the word of God. All of the thoughts and writings of men simply agree or disagree. Men regularly lay claim to bits and pieces of God's phenomenal wisdom yet conveniently forget to give credit to the source...it's called plagiarism. Man has never created an original thought...simply old ideas in a new dress. I built a house with bits and pieces of God's creation. I didn't create the house. The raw materials that the house is constructed from were created by God out of that which is invisible. Thoughts, like the house, are composites of bits and pieces of information created by God. You either agree or disagree, and when you disagree you are simply wrong.

Now for today's subject.

GOD SAID in Matthew, chapter 5, verses 44-48:

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

The Lord Jesus said love, bless, do good and pray.

MAN SAID God doesn't exist and the Bible is just an old book without any supernatural information and that it was written by men. He thinks that grudges, hatred, bitterness, etc. are simply part of man's evolutionary landscape.

Now THE RECORD. Man is commonly in the business of grudges, bitterness, revenge, hatred, cursing, speaking evil of others, violence and maintains an overall "get even" mentality. We shouldn't have to look far to find someone who has participated in one or more of the above...usually as far away as our mirror. Yet the Lord Jesus said love, bless, do good and pray.

If disobeying commandments of God's word which were given thousands of years ago is wrong, then those disobeying it would display telltale symptoms of their disobedience, and they do. Much more than symptoms...how about outright death and destruction?

A February 2002 article in Prevention Magazine was titled, "How Grudges Hurt You. Learn To Forgive, For Your Health's Sake." The first paragraph reads:

Forgiveness can mend more than strained relationships. New research has demonstrated that letting go of a grudge can have dramatic and fast-acting health benefits.

Researchers at Hope College in Holland, Michigan studied 71 subjects who mentally relived hurtful memories but this time with two alternative endings: harboring a grudge and forgiving. The researchers measured their heart rates, blood pressure, perspiration and cataloged their emotions. Again quoting from the article:

Heart rates and blood pressures were 2 1/2 times lower when participants forgave than when they held grudges. Holding a grudge also made them sweat, a sign that their nervous systems were on high alert. Forgiveness left them feeling calm and in control.

Dr. C. Witvliet, assistant professor of psychology at the college had this to say regarding the study:

Participants felt significantly more negative, angry and sad during the unforgiving condition than during the forgiving condition.

And finally the doctor said:

We know that sustained anger and hostility are risk factors for heart disease. Forgiveness may be a powerful antidote to hostility. If people become forgiving, there can be accumulating health benefits, just as there are increased health risks when people have accumulated anger and hostility.

An unforgiving spirit breeds hostility in all forms. Dr. Redford Williams, an internist and behavioral medicine researcher at Duke University had this to say about hostility:

A cynical, mistrusting attitude is a driving force that makes people most susceptible to heart disease.

He went on to say:

Hostility predicts the risk not just of heart disease, but mortality due to all causes.

God's wisdom is perfect. He created us and He knows what we can and can't handle. Thousands of years before man's intellect begins to comprehend the benefits of various activities, God has already laid out the perfect instruction concerning it. The mighty Christ said love, bless, do good and pray for your enemies but man said grudge, hatred and get even.

Grudges and hatred participate substantially in long-term stress which science now knows causes chronically elevated levels of cortisol which is linked to heart disease, mental decline and accelerated aging.

On this website click on to "The Power of Going to Church." Those who go to church two or more times a week where the principle of forgiveness is taught, live an average of eight years longer.

Jesus teaches us to pray and part of the prayer in Matthew, chapter 6, verse 12, reads:

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

In Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 32, the word of God says:

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

In Colossians, chapter 3, verses 12-13, God's word reads:

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Do you think it's possible that God's word is true and righteous altogether? Of course it is.

GOD SAID in Matthew, chapter 5, verses 44-48:

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

MAN SAID God doesn't exist and the Bible is just an old book without any supernatural information and that it was written by men. He thinks that grudges, hatred, bitterness, etc. are simply part of man's evolutionary landscape.

Now you have THE RECORD.



References:

King James Bible

Harrar, S., "How Grudges Hurt You," Prevention Magazine, Feb. 2002, p. 38.

Psychological Science, March 2001.

Goleman, D., "Agreeableness vs. Anger," Good Health Magazine, New York Times, April 16 1989, p. 20.

Dean, W., MD, "The Neuroendocine Theory of Aging," Vitamin Research News, August 2001, pages 1 & 4.

• Go Further With Christ
• Email To a Friend
• Comments or Questions?