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Be Quick to Forgive

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). 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 Bible teaches us to forgive "readily and freely." We are to be quick to forgive. According to 1 Peter 5:5 we are to clothe ourselves with the character of Jesus Christ, meaning that we are to be longsuffering, patient, and filled with mercy. My definition of the word mercy is the ability to look beyond what is done to discover the reason why it was done. Many times people do things even they don't understand themselves, but there is always a reason why people behave as they do.

The same is true of us as believers. We are to be merciful and forgiving, just as God in Christ forgives us our wrongdoing—even when we don't understand why we do what we do. The Bible teaches that we are to forgive in order to keep Satan from getting the advantage over us. So when we forgive others, not only are we doing them a favor, we are doing ourselves an even greater favor. The reason we are doing ourselves such a favor is because unforgiveness produces in us a root of bitterness that poisons our entire system. The longer we allow it to grow and fester, the more powerful it becomes, and the more it infects our entire being: our personality, our attitude and behavior, our perspective, and our relationships—especially our relationship with God.

To keep Satan from getting the advantage over you, forgive! Do yourself a favor and let the offense go! Forgive to keep yourself from being poisoned—and imprisoned.

From the book New Day, New You: 365 Devotions for Enjoying Everyday Life by Joyce Meyer.