Monday 27 January 2014

Love Does Not Keep Record of Wrongs


Happy Monday to you all! I want to challenge us to be truthful with ourselves and check within us if we are guilty of keeping record of wrongs.

Do you keep a record of wrongs?

As part of our Christian growth, we need to learn to examine ourselves and see if we are still following the principles of God.

If I were to ask you if you loved God, I’m sure your response would be a BIG YES! But my question is: "How do you show love to people that have wronged you?"


I have two personal illustrations:

An individual behaved not so nicely to me and I had previously felt like supporting the person that had wronged me with something. However, I remembered what the individual had done and then, I immediately withdrew my help. After I made the decision not to help, the Holy Spirit spoke to me. The Holy Spirit reminded me of a scripture in Romans 12: 17 which states that ‘Repay no one evil for evil.’ God said that what makes me a Christian is how I subdue the human nature and being conscious to do what God will do. I appreciated the voice of God that I heard and I bless God for allowing me to listen to Him when He spoke. I eventually helped and supported the individual.


My question for you is: "How do you treat people that have wronged you?" Do you wait for an opportunity for you to retaliate?

The second example that I would like to share is below:

Recently, I told Mr S  about  two young people that lived promiscuous lives and I further explained to Mr S that, their actions were not biblical given that they are Christians. I emphasised the issue and I stated that such behaviour and acts should not be found among Christians, particularly Born-Again Christians and people in the ministering of the gospel.  But before I could finish my last sentence, Mr S interjected and asked me, why I was condemning them. He further asked me whether I was certain that those individuals had not changed or stopped such acts? I kept nodding my head, stating within me that "Oh yes, you are probably right".

Mr S asked me that, ‘Myss Lafunky, remember when you said that some people assumed and continue to assume that you are a rude lady because you usually stand up for the truth; I replied "Yes,"
"what if those individuals continue to refer to you as a rude lady whenever your name is mentioned around their gathering, how would you feel?" What if you are no longer rude, and people still refer to you as a rude lady because of an incident that happened in the past?

After Mr S had finished his discussions with me, I pondered on everything that he’d said, below was my thought process:

God does not remember our sins when we confess them. Why should I now be remembering the sins of others and using their past sins to judge them? This is not a Christian attribute. I must pray for any individual that I might be aware of their past rather than judging or condemning them due to their past. 


1 Corinthians 13:5b states that “Love keeps no record of wrongs.

Hebrews 8:12 states that "For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Isaiah 43:25
"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Hebrews 10:17
Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."


Do you keep record of wrongs?

We all have to check ourselves and be sure that we are not guilty of this act.


Prayer

Lord Jesus, teach me how to love, I sometimes struggle to love, I need you Lord Jesus to show me the way to love. When I do not love in the way that you would like me to love, Lord Jesus, please correct me and teach me the right way to show your love.

- Myss Lafunky

2 comments:

  1. I try hard not to remember wrongs. However I realize that my competitive edge initially kicks in until I remember, "vanity upon vanity, all is vanity". It happened yesterday when I got kicked a number of times while playing football and initially planned a retaliation but later got controlled.
    Also, while driving I could easily get tripped off when people drive rough by me which could lead to a chase until I suddenly come back to my senses and feel a calm. Sometimes tho, listening to gospel music and being lost in it helps prevent such.
    Aside those times, other situations do not lead me to judge people but to be more careful around them.

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    1. To be more careful is wise, however, we must not reference to their past mistakes whenever we refer to the individual unless we are sharing their testimony and how God transformed the individual. I like your examples, keeping of wrongs, retaliating, etc can be linked to so many things.

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