Tag Archives: learning how to forgive

A Little Bit of Kindness Can Go A Long Way

Posted on September 21, 2021 by expressyourself4him

In the King James Version of the Bible, the actual term for kindness is one word “lovingkindness.” Loving kindness is found 30 times in this translation of the Bible. The most famous passage where kindness is found is known as the Fruits of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23. According to the apostle Paul, kindness is a reflection of the Holy Spirit living inside of a human being. When displayed, a little bit of kindness can go a long way.

But love your enemies and be kind and do good [doing favors [z]so that someone derives benefit from them] and lend, expecting and hoping for nothing in return but [aa]considering nothing as lost and despairing of no one; and then your recompense (your reward) will be great (rich, strong, intense, and abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind and charitable and good to the ungrateful and the selfish and wicked. 36 So be merciful (sympathetic, tender, responsive, and compassionate) even as your Father is [all these], Luke 6:35-36.

Jesus has a different standard for his followers. Christians are expected to not only love their enemies, but to pray for them as well. When kindness is poured out upon the heart broken, poor and total strangers, souls are encouraged and uplifted. Unfortunately, in this age of social media, kindness is a lost art. Rather than share kind comments, posts and tweets, gossip, slander and trashing others has taken center stage.

 Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). 32 And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you, Ephesians 4:31-32.

The apostle Paul reveals in the passage above how to overcome negativity. Instead of allowing yourself to be poisoned by the darkness in this world, Paul calls Christians to be compassionate, tenderhearted and understanding. Despite how other individuals may treat you, genuine kindness is learning how to forgive as Jesus forgave you. When this perspective becomes fully grasped, a little bit of kindness can go a long way in changing your spheres of influence for the better.

by Jay Mankus

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What it Means to Love

Posted on October 29, 2019 by expressyourself4him

Due to negative life experiences, most individuals can’t comprehend the concept of love. When the majority of acts you witness on earth are contrary to love, this quality becomes foreign, strange and rare. Thus, when few are actually emulating love, millions of inhabitants on this planet go through life without ever knowing what it means to love.

For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses, Matthew 6:14-15.

In her song Vanity and Rot, Lacey Sturm addresses what it means to love from a woman’s perspective. The lyrics of the song from the album Life Screams focuses on the internal battle of forgiveness. Sturm references the desire to believe what she learned as a child. Yet, forgiving someone who commits the same wrongful act over and over again is exhausting.

Then Peter came up to Him and said, Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me and I forgive him and let it go? [As many as] up to seven times? Jesus answered him, I tell you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven! – Matthew 18:21-22.

One of Jesus’ own disciples struggled with what is means to love. When the concept of forgiveness arose, Peter asked Jesus if Christians should put a limit on forgiveness, using 7 as a starting number. Jesus’ response seems more like a math equation 70 X 7. However, the point of Jesus’ words here point to infinity. Just as God forgives sinners an infinite amount of times, what it means to love is forgiving others just as Jesus forgives you.

by Jay Mankus

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A Forgiving God

Posted on May 25, 2013 by expressyourself4him

Words like “I’ll forgive, but I won’t forget” tend to permeate throughout modern Hollywood productions.  This mindset has led many to adopt similar attitudes, especially toward those who have broken or crushed their heart.  When forgiveness is absent, nastiness within the human soul rears its ugly head.  As a result, bitterness, divorce and hatred have taken center stage in America.

Unless you hear or read it for yourself, Romans 10:17, memories quickly forget the presence of a forgiving God.  Although sin does not go unpunished, Psalm 99:8 provides water for a thirsty soul seeking to shed spirits of guilt, remorse and shame.  Tattered and weary individuals are crying out for a fresh start, hoping for a clean slate, erasing the pain of the past, Psalm 103:11-12.

Often, the only person standing in the way of forgiveness is yourself.  Speaking from experience, beating yourself up internally only benefits the devil who wants to keep you distracted, Matthew 6:15.  Therefore, remember the compassion of the Lord, spreading the great news of a forgiving God, Lamentations 3:17-23.  Once you accept this truth, hope will plant a seed of  belief which can provide a spiritual root system to carry you through the storms of life!

by Jay Mankus

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