And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. - Matthew 6:12-15
And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. - Mark 11:24-26
AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!
It’s been enormously sad and excruciatingly painful how many refresher courses I’ve had to take in those truths to finally MOSTLY get it. Awesome truths that absolutely play out vividly in the lives of believers but also in the lives of unbelievers.
God’s Word is simply TRUTH . . . Certainly the truth about God; our relationship with God . . . but also about the way His Creation, reality, works.
Thx.
I have seen spousal and child abuse, including child sexual abuse, and "substance abuse" AND the related abuse of persons concealed and prolonged until the effects are life-altering to the point of life-destroying.
And the Perps said longest and loudest, "Let's let bygones be bygones," as their targets and victims wilted and languished around them.
I note the incredible asymmetry here. We are told repeatedly, with a book jacket posted, that our devotions and belief are pathological. No one actually develops the concept, it seems that all that it required is to question the health of our motives for our practices.
I see no rebuke from you for that, and Quix is one of those who keeps it going.
And now that I am naming what I see, and others are saying they see it to, now I am cautioned against cherishing anger and being judgmental?
Is being aware that one is observing victimization worse than victimizing folks? IS that the contention here -- that it is better to abuse than for the abused to know that they are being abused and to point it out?
One of the reasons abuse is so dreadful is precisely that it tempts the victim to cherishing anger and all the things you say. Lewis writes well about this in his book on the Psalms. So that IS a fight I must fight, and a plea for protection I must make, and it's why I pray for abusers and the enemies of the Church at almost every opportunity.
But the fact that some are tempted, and succumb, to the sins you mention does not in itself prohibit pointing out the sins of the victimizers. Here we have some who have been repeatedly asked NOT to provoke and who finally say provocation is a purpose of theirs. And when this is noted, suddenly it's all wrong for the person who is provoked to notice and say so, while those who proudly provoke are comforted and defended?
Finally, distinguo: Forgiving is one thing. Observing is another. One can observe and forgive at the same time. Some people would prefer not to be either observed nor forgiven. Often, for such people, "Forgiveness" is taken to be permission and even tacit approval. If you note but neither give permission nor approval, you are then called unforgiving.
Anger, bitterness and unforgiveness cause all sorts of emotional and physical problems. It just ain’t worth it.