Unforgivers Anonymous

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 14, 15

At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. (Deuteronomy 15:1)

“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)

Off the top of my head, if I were to name my most prevalent sins, I would say…

1. Unbelief (I believe in Jesus, enough to be saved, but I don’t trust God like Jesus -- or Joseph in Genesis -- did.)

2. Pride. (I got the mother lode.)

3. Unforgiveness. (I don’t hold grudges, I just emotionally disengage and physically disappear. Instead of reconciling with people, I just let relationships dematerialize.)

And this is what I’m doing about them:

1. The Bible has a prescription (called “the Bible”) for unbelief. And, as you know, I take my medicine every day:

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)

2. The Bible has an antidote (called “God”) for pride. He puts me in circumstances where I must swallow my pride every day:

I, the LORD, will crush the arrogance of the proud. (Isaiah 13:11)

3. The Bible also has a rehab process (called “forgive”) for unforgiveness. Sad to say, but this is the therapy I keep resisting. They try to make me go, but I say No, no, no.

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Unforgiveness is the hardest sin for many of us to overcome. Scripture indicates that God knew this, because he instituted a program (I call it Unforgivers Anonymous) of regularly scheduled debt forgiveness so that people might break the habit of unforgiveness (or stay in the habit of forgiveness.)

This program included a “sabbath year” (when debts were cancelled every seventh year) and a Year of Jubilee (which meant the cancelling of debts plus the liberation of slaves and the return of land to its original owners every fiftieth year).

“Forgive us our ‘debts’ as we forgive our ‘debtors.’” --

Jesus told us to pray it, he showed us how to do it, and he gave us a program to practice it.

One of these days I’ve got to get on the wagon and get with the program.

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