![[Photo of a Scripture verse]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/Leviticus_19_18.jpg)
| “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” |
| —Leviticus 19:18 |
It is almost impossible to make your way through life without having someone do something that significantly offends or harms you.
I’m not talking about the kind of thin-skinned offense that so many in our culture seem to have toward public words of politicians, or individuals who speak out in behalf of some cause in which they believe.
No, I’m talking about the kind of offense that occurs when someone you know, or even love and trust, does something or says something that truly harms you in some way.
The question when such an offense happens is: How will you respond?
For years, when someone took very hurtful action against me in word or deed, I wrote them off. I sealed them up in an impenetrable mental shell and, from that day forward, acted as if they didn’t exist. They were dead to me. I did not speak about them. I did not tell anyone what they had done. I just treated them as if they were dead. And, in fact, they were “dead” to me.
But, that is clearly not the way that God intends us to act toward our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Of course, if Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 18:15-17 was scrupulously followed, the number of genuine offenses would be significantly reduced, if not totally eliminated.
Nevertheless, if a brother or sister does something to harm us, we must respond in a loving, forgiving way.
The root of this behavior on our part comes from the Old Testament Jewish Law. Notice what Moses records in Leviticus 19:18:
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
As “Christ’s-ones,” the term “our people” would refer to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should never seek revenge nor bear a grudge against a fellow believer.
But, realistically, it is wise for us to develop such a forgiving spirit that we also stand ready to forgive anyone who harms us.
In previous blog posts, I have written about the nature of forgiveness. So, let me simply state here that forgiveness only becomes effective when the one who created the offense asks for forgiveness. But, that does not diminish our responsibility to remain ready and willing to forgive, whether the offender asks for forgiveness or not.
So, at the beginning of another new day, let’s be ones who maintain a spirit of forgiveness. Let’s not hold a grudge or seek revenge against those who harm us.
Certainly, if we do this—as hard as that may be—we will truly be walking in the footsteps of Jesus.
