Trump Is Wrong, Forgiveness Better Than VengeanceForgiveness Better Than Vengeance
During a recent interview with Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, Donald Trump was asked if he could forgive someone who had offended him. O'Reilly stated that Donald claimed to be a Christian and "forgiveness is a "Christian tenet." Donald replied that while forgiving might "probably" be the "right thing to do" he preferred another biblical tenet, that of "An eye for an eye."
...a big fat myth in our society. "Time heals all wounds." Right? Wrong.
Listen, dear friend. Time does not heal all wounds. Time will provide many opportunities for you to get healing, but that healing always involves forgiveness for the pain we experienced (and taking the pain to Jesus). I have met numerous angry, bitter seventy-year old people who were relatively cheerful when they were six years old. Time doesn't automatically heal all wounds. We get better or we get worse as we get older. We can choose to forgive. And that brings a lot of healing into our hearts.
Another myth: "They didn't mean to hurt me." Ok. They didn't "intend" to hurt you (whatever that is …).
I didn't mean to shoot my brother-in-law through the left arm with a 30.06 when we were hunting groundhogs together in 1987, either. (That's a story I'll save for later). I told him I was sorry during our hi-speed race to the hospital as I squeezed his left elbow with my right hand hard enough to break bones (slowing down the blood flow).
The fact that I didn't mean to shoot his arm (the gun jammed while unloading it) didn't heal the wound. He had to spend a couple days in the hospital. A person may not have intended to hurt us, but that doesn't erase the wound.
...There's a better way. We can choose to forgive those who have hurt us. This makes the consequences go away. It's that simple and that profound!
Lastly, a failure to forgive will defile those around us (Hebrews 12:15). How many people does it take to get anger flowing through a family or a church? Just one. One person negatively affects another, who affects others, and so it goes. There is a better way, and that way is found in Paul's letter to the Ephesians.
"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:31–32)
I began by saying forgiveness is not optional for a Christian. It isn't. Really. But it is optional at the most basic level of human choice. We don't have to forgive — we can choose bitterness. And to choose bitterness is to choose the slow death of our heart (1 John 3:19–21).
There is something in forgiveness for us. A benefit. Isaiah tells us that God's forgiveness is an extension and benefit of His own character (Isaiah 43:25). There is tremendous reward in forgiveness.
But it evidently seems too expensive for Donald. He likes the "eye for an eye" stuff because he can control the transaction.
For all of his business experience he is missing the tremendous profit and freedom that forgiveness brings into our lives. Forgiveness is profitable, both emotionally and spiritually. You would think a businessman would realize that. A true Christian one will.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/donald-trump-wrong-forgiveness-better-vengeance-christian-tenet-bible-156445/#6dl2soU9shesCDg1.99
