BITTERNESS IS A POISON

November 1, 2018 - Solemnity of All Saints


“Blessed are the merciful.” — Matthew 5:7

“But the person who hurt me hasn’t asked for forgiveness yet. He hasn’t repented. He doesn’t deserve to be forgiven.” Have you heard this line before? I have. Many times. And it’s foolishness. Because you don’t depend on the other person to do something before you drain the poison of anger out of your body.

If an evil person pushes you into a giant vat filled with toxic chemicals, do you say, “I’m not getting out of this pool of poison until that person apologizes to me”? That’s nuts. But that’s what bitter people do. They wait for the offender to repent before they forgive them. Get out of the pool of poison you’re swimming in right now.

I tell people, “You forgive not because they deserve to be forgiven but because you deserve to forgive. You deserve the inner happiness, spiritual freedom, and robust health that comes from forgiving others.”

This is how God forgave. St. Paul said, “He saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of His own mercy that He saved us” (Titus 3:5, GNT).

And that’s how we should forgive, too. Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@ kerygmafamily.com)

Reflect: Is there any person you need to forgive?

Father, thank You for forgiving me of all my transgressions. I release any unforgiveness in my heart, too. Amen.

All Saints, pray for us.