Unforgiveness - the consequences

I read this wonderful article on "Forgiveness" by David Wilkerson. It is worth a posting on my blog!

I struggle very much with this issue of forgiveness myself. Usually people who hurt me with their words will be given the "cold treatment" i.e. I will avoid speaking to them until I get over the hurt. I will have to go to God in prayer again and again and ask Him to help me to truly forgive them from my heart. Often I will feel so far away from the Lord...even when the Lord had removed the hurt from my heart, I will still avoid talking to them for fear of being hurt again.

This short article written by David Wilkerson really ministered to me. Perhaps if I put into practice what is taught I will get over the hurt faster and respond differently in future.

Unforgiveness is a spiritual disease. In some cases it translates into physical ailments as well. My Aka in India, Pastor Lata shared about how her mother who was afflicted with cancer got healed after forgiving a relative whom she hated very much. She hated her so much that she told Aka that she would not want them at her funeral! After forgiving this person, her mother felt a release in her spirit and was healed of her cancer!

Paul writes in Rom 12:19 "Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the scriptures say, "I will take revenge. I will pay them back" says the Lord".

There are 4 consequences of unforgiveness:

1. We will become guiltier than the person who hurt us.
2. God's mercy and grace towards us will be shut off. Things will begin to go wrong in our lives as we will be walking in disobedience. If we are facing one problem after another, perhaps it is time to search our hearts and ask the Lord to reveal any forgiveness in us.
3. We will be robbed of our peace and joy. The person who hurt us will seem to be the victor succeeding in inflicting in us a permanent wound. We will appear to be vexed and troubled. It would even seem like unforgiveness is tormenting us.
4. We will seem to be inflicted with thoughts of revenge against the person. In this manner, satan will be able to tempt us into deadlier sins and we could be led to commit sins.

How true! I have come across wives who hated their husbands so much that they will want to seek "revenge" by having affairs themselves. An elderly lady wrote about how the Lord brought her to hell where she met a woman who had killed her adulterous husband. Although she was a believer, she ended up in hell! I have come across people who had so much unforgiveness towards someone close to them that they will look for ways to "sabotage" that person!

Unforgiveness doesn't help us in anyway. We will always end up as LOSERS!