Forgive the Offense

Proverbs 10:12 

"Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses."

When Jesus was insulted at his trials, he stayed silent. Why? To show us how love is meant to respond to abuse. "Turn the other cheek" right? I used to struggle with that concept, because I was determined to never get abused again. The point is, don't retaliate. You can walk away. 

Jesus didn't literally mean let people beat you up. He meant don't strike back. If others hurt you, just let it go. Try to understand why they did what they did. They are probably hurting a lot too. Hurt people, hurt people. 

I know that isn't easy. It is our natural inclination to just get mad at them and focus on how unfair they treated us. But love covers all offenses. That means forget about it. Don't focus on it anymore. We let our love for everyone cover over the offense. 

We love others and forgive them not because they deserve it, but because God commands us to. He doesn't want us to hold onto that bitterness. The person who hurt you probably didn't want to let their own bitterness go. That is why they did what they did. You probably don't want to make someone else feel the way they made you feel right? So let that bitterness go. It will only hurt you if you hold onto it. 

The more you can forgive, the more joy you will feel. You know it's the right thing to do. A lot of times we feel depressed because we don't do what we know God wants us to do. Maybe we are feeling his sadness over our anger. We decide to stay mad and we make God grieve by doing that. 

Let things go. Enjoy the feeling of peace. Let yourself be happy again.