EHAL Magazine May 2019

Everything Horses and Livestock Magazine ® Unforgiveness by Cory Young

70 Times 7 One of the great joys of my line of work is that I get to lean up next to a fence and visit with folks about life. I really do enjoy hearing about their families, their jobs and even…their problems. Of course, my job is to nudge them towards the Lord by sharing His Word. It is, sometimes, in our darkest times of trial that the timeless truth of the Bible really speaks to our hearts. A common theme in my life, and certainly in visits I have with folks, is the issue of bitterness. Bitterness can show its ugly face as a “prayer request” (“Did you hear what so-and-so did to me?”) or as a history lesson (“Back in 1997 that guy…”). However, it shows up, bitterness is really caused by unforgiveness. The 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defines “forgiveness” as, “the act of forgiving; the pardon of an offender, by which he is considered and treated as not guilty. The forgiveness of enemies is a Christian duty.” Did you catch that last part? Noah Webster said that it is the “duty” of believers to forgive our enemies. Forgiveness is one of the major ways the world knows that we are Christians. There are clear Biblical teachings on the right of a nation to defend itself from evil (military and law enforcement) as well as teaching on our responsibility to keep our homes and families safe. But really, when I look

at my life and the times that bitterness and unforgiveness have taken hold it has been a result of a far simpler issue…someone wounded my pride. They said something, did something, or implied something that I thought was wrong. So, I got bitter. As a follower of Jesus, I know that I am not perfect. In fact, I know that I am a The discipline of forgiveness is essential for believers as we walk in the grace of our own individual forgiveness from the Lord. Let’s be the example and walk this out! sinner who needs the forgiveness of the Savior. Who am I to hold a grudge against someone else just because of my stubborn pride? Jim Boy Hash, one of my favorite rodeo coaches, told me a long time ago that, “bitterness is like a pill designed to kill our enemy, but of giving it to them, we swallow it ourselves.” We should forgive because we ourselves have been forgiven. Just as important is the reminder that unforgiveness is a spiritual cancer that

someone we felt like crossed the line. That is nothing new. In Matthew 18:21- 22 we read, “Then Peter came to him and asked, ‘Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?’ ‘No, not seven times,’ Jesus replied, ‘but seventy times seven!’” Peter’s question came on the heels of Jesus’ teaching on how to deal with a brother in the church who has been in the wrong. It is obvious that Peter was thinking that there was a point where we could quit forgiving. Either because the wrong was so great or because the wrong was so frequent. Jesus’ answer is outstanding… “seventy times seven” (or seventy- seven times depending on your translation). The point was clear – forgiveness is a continual process. That doesn’t mean that we keep putting ourselves in a situation to get hurt by folks continually. For me, at least, this verse rings true in that every time I think of that one wrong, I have to come back to the Lord and say, “I’ve forgiven them, please forgive me for continuing to dwell on it.” There are wrongs in my life that I have had to give back to the Lord likely a hundred (or a thousand) times. Every time it comes to mind. The discipline of forgiveness is essential for believers as we walk in the grace of our own individual forgiveness from the Lord. Let’s be the example and walk this out!

eats us from the inside out. We’ve all been wronged by

Everything Horses and Livestock® | May 2019 | EHALmagazine.com 52