Mittwoch, 3. Februar 2010

Forgiveness Is a Way of Life

Apparently your perception of certain individuals or even groups doesn’t jibe and coincide with that of others of those same people… What if I’m just allowing that issue to exist with you?

Perhaps it is an issue that’s just there with you, and perhaps it’s for a reason.

Some people see weaknesses in others and instantly – you might say “automatically” - develop aversions toward those people as a result. It creates an air of self-righteousness around them, one that breathes condemnation and judgment or simply “being labeled” for their sin or weakness that makes them uncomfortable to have around…

You must realize that while the discernment that comes from My Spirit is a positive force, this type of a critical nature is usually not inspired by Me, but is rather the nature of the Enemy, the accuser of the saints.

Whenever you feel yourself become critical of any of your brethren – regardless of what they do or may be guilty of (since the Devil will always tempt them to commit some foundation for your accusation first) – you must remind yourself that you wouldn’t want to join him in becoming just another accuser of the saints.

You’d rather join Me in My scheme of forgiving 77 times 7, or however many times is necessary, instead of judging them. My advice has always been, “Judge not, that ye be not judged!”

Whatever you judge another for, as Paul said (Rom.2:1), you run chances that you might wind up being guilty of the same thing. Some call it “Karma,” some call it the “Boomerang effect,” I called it, “Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap.” You get whatever you dish out.

If you walk through life with a merciful, forgiving attitude, that’s what you’re going to get from people. If you walk through life with a critical, self-righteous and judgmental attitude, that’s what you’re going to get…

You might say that forgiveness is more than an act, more than something you do when someone has wronged you, it’s an attitude, a position of the heart that you take on for life. It’s a way of life…

Forgiveness is a way of life, and you’re going to have to choose between this, My way of life of forgiveness and a merciful attitude, or the Enemy’s judgmental, critical and self-righteous accuser-of-the-saints type of life-style.

The former will bring you joy, happiness, laughter, freedom, and a light and happy spirit, the latter will give you ulcers, if not cancer, and a lot less friends…

Yes, the negative issues are there and cannot simply be ignored. But they have to be tackled in the right way, a way that genuinely offers a solution, instead of being just another part of the problem, or a whole new problem in itself. – You can’t battle negative issues with yet more negativity or a negative attitude toward them, but rather with something positive, a cheerful attitude that offers a solution to the problem – a positive approach, rather than a negative one.

That’s how important it is to stay positive! That’s what the struggle is really all about: how not to be overwhelmed and overcome by all the negative influences and circumstances in life, but to maintain the upper hand and rise above them all and be an overcomer instead.