Chris' Blog

When you are younger, everything seems much bigger than it really is. Dad is the best dad in the world and can beat any other dad in town (or even Chuck Norris). You absolutely loathe broccoli. Ice cream can make your day. As you grow older, those emotions tend to mellow out. Some of them hide and wait to catch you off guard.

During those younger years, my parents used to gently remind me that I couldn't be angry forever. They sometimes quoted the second part of Ephesians 4:26 (paraphrase):

Don't let the sun go down on your anger.

I always knew that meant I only had a couple hours to forgive, and I knew that I couldn't hold a grudge much beyond that anyway. Yeah, it was almost as bad as teenage girls. But suppose that the verse was intended that you should forgive yourself as well.

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), Jesus said:

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

The reference to a brother having anything against you is using what was understood to be one of the two most important commands in Moses' Law. Leviticus 19:18:

Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

I realize that this is a little backwards, but there is one more verse that I want to bring up. Ephesians 5:28,29:

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

How can this be a good thing if you hate yourself? Paul goes on to say that nobody really hates himself. Even those who commit suicide will look for a method that is relatively quick. They don't want to be reminded how important they are to themselves.

No, I'm not thinking about suicide. My point is that sometimes you need to be reminded to forgive you. It is easy for our eyesight to catch on something that seems big and bad. Let it go, so that the sun can go down in peace -- so that your fellowship with God can continue.

God specializes in doing what you are still unable to. Isaiah 61:1-3:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

That isn't an excuse to blunder foolishly into the same mess again, but don't keep reliving it.