On numerous occasions Jesus stressed the importance of our willingness to forgive others for their trespasses against us. The tendency among men is to harbor resentment toward anyone who maligns us. Vengeance is the only accepted response in the minds of many. Brooding over personal injuries and injustices received at the hands of other can only make us bitter and rob us of the joy that can otherwise be ours in Christ (Matt. 6:12-15, Luke 17:1-4). Here are two stories to ponder.

The first comes from the Civil War era. That war had left not only an aftermath of destruction across the south, but a spirit of bitterness, hatred, and resentment in America. Although the guns had quietened and the swords had been laid aside, the anger raged for decades following that horrible battle of brother against brother. Many simply refused to forgive. It has been said that Robert E. Lee urged reconciliation between the North and the South. He knew that the war was over and that it was time to put the past behind and move forward. To the day of his death, the “Gray Knight” was never heard to speak an unkind word about those who had been his enemies. He even opposed the erection of Confederate monuments because he thought they would only serve to keep wartime passions alive. In his book, Lee: The Last Years, Charles Bracelen tells of a time after the Civil War when Robert E. Lee visited a woman who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her home. There she cried bitterly that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Union artillery fire. She waited for Lee to condemn the North or at least sympathize with her loss. Lee paused, and then said, “Cut it down, my dear madam, and then forget it.” Good advice from a man who knew the horrors of war and suffered the pain of defeat.

The second story comes from an interview with Pete Peterson who served as the US ambassador to Vietnam. Mr. Peterson’s appointment was ironic because he served six years as a prisoner of war in the dreaded “Hanoi Hilton” prison camp. Now he would return to the land where he was held captive-returning not for revenge, but to represent the United States. When asked how he could do such a thing after years of starvation, torture, and inhuman brutality, he replied, “I’m not angry. I left that at the gates of the prison when I walked out in 1972. That may sound simplistic to some people, but it’s the truth. I just left it behind me and decided to move forward with my life.” The apostle Paul recognized the importance of cutting some things down and forgetting them. He wrote: “Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before. I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). Beloved, are you harboring resentment toward a brother who has wronged you? If he repents, forgive him. But if he does not repent, do not let his stubbornness make you miserable. Forget the offense, and stand ready to forgive him when, and if, he finally seeks your forgiveness.

By Tom Wacaster