The Cancer Within Christianity
August 3rd 2007 20:31
Hello dear readers,
I ask you, what could hinder prayers? Cause strife and division? I'm sure you have many answers, but I pose this to you. What is the cancer within the church? (By church I mean Christianity as a whole).
I'll tell you what a major part is: unforgiveness. Unforgiveness spreads like a cancer. Unforgiveness causes torment. Not necessarily to the person not being forgiven, but to the unforgiver. Unforgiveness manifests as sickness and disease in the body. Unforgiveness leads to the mind entertaining thoughts that are opposite from what the Bible teaches. Unforgiveness leads to a breech in your love walk, which takes you off of the God-ordained path for your life. Then, for the sake of having others join in with your unforgiveness, manipulation (which is a form of witchcraft) occurs, leading you further away from God. (Manipulation is putting your way of doing things before God's, which is why it has been labeled witchcraft.) Then resentment sets in, and pride becomes an issue.
Some of the hardest obstacles I have overcome in my life I had to do by forgiving someone else (or sometimes, myself!) Did I want to forgive? NO! Was it uncomfortable? Extremely. I loved my place of justification. My self-righteousness. But I saw the fruit of my words and actions. The harvest was not one that I wanted.
One of the most humbling yet rejuvenating acts one can do, is come before God and admit the unforgiveness in their hearts. In a place of brokenness, of letting go, of sacrifice, God can heal wounds from years past. A weight will be lifted. And I'll admit, many of the times I went before God crying out to Him, "I don't want to forgive this person, but out of obedience to Your word, I'll do it." And it was a daily endeavor for me to take my thoughts captive. I would say out loud, "I forgive this person. And bless this person." After awhile, I noticed that when I thought about this person, the sting wasn't there with the memory. Healing had taken place in my heart.
At the same time, I have seen people hang on to unforgiveness for the span of their lives. Take a relative of mine as an example. She gets offended at everything it seems, and throws things in people's faces. I even went to her on several occasions and asked her forgiveness (and believe me I was crucifying my flesh on that one) for events that weren't even my fault. She told me she didn't care and that she refused to forgive me. At that point, I had done all I could do. I knew I had done right before God, and the ball was in her court. She still hangs on to it to this day, and I'm sorry to say is riddled with sickness and disease. And she seems to be one of the grumpiest people on the planet. She refuses to let go. I can honestly say that I have forgiven the things she has done to me and my children, and because I chose to forgive her, God changed my viewpoint of her. What I held in my heart as anger against her turned into pity, mercy and longsuffering. Both situations were not the most fun to walk through, but I gained wisdom in the processes.
Let us, as Christians, take the high road and forgive those who wrong us. Yes it's painful. But the benefits of obedience are far better than hanging on to something in the past. Let's stun the world and practice what we preach.
Blessings on all of you!
I ask you, what could hinder prayers? Cause strife and division? I'm sure you have many answers, but I pose this to you. What is the cancer within the church? (By church I mean Christianity as a whole).
I'll tell you what a major part is: unforgiveness. Unforgiveness spreads like a cancer. Unforgiveness causes torment. Not necessarily to the person not being forgiven, but to the unforgiver. Unforgiveness manifests as sickness and disease in the body. Unforgiveness leads to the mind entertaining thoughts that are opposite from what the Bible teaches. Unforgiveness leads to a breech in your love walk, which takes you off of the God-ordained path for your life. Then, for the sake of having others join in with your unforgiveness, manipulation (which is a form of witchcraft) occurs, leading you further away from God. (Manipulation is putting your way of doing things before God's, which is why it has been labeled witchcraft.) Then resentment sets in, and pride becomes an issue.
Some of the hardest obstacles I have overcome in my life I had to do by forgiving someone else (or sometimes, myself!) Did I want to forgive? NO! Was it uncomfortable? Extremely. I loved my place of justification. My self-righteousness. But I saw the fruit of my words and actions. The harvest was not one that I wanted.
One of the most humbling yet rejuvenating acts one can do, is come before God and admit the unforgiveness in their hearts. In a place of brokenness, of letting go, of sacrifice, God can heal wounds from years past. A weight will be lifted. And I'll admit, many of the times I went before God crying out to Him, "I don't want to forgive this person, but out of obedience to Your word, I'll do it." And it was a daily endeavor for me to take my thoughts captive. I would say out loud, "I forgive this person. And bless this person." After awhile, I noticed that when I thought about this person, the sting wasn't there with the memory. Healing had taken place in my heart.
At the same time, I have seen people hang on to unforgiveness for the span of their lives. Take a relative of mine as an example. She gets offended at everything it seems, and throws things in people's faces. I even went to her on several occasions and asked her forgiveness (and believe me I was crucifying my flesh on that one) for events that weren't even my fault. She told me she didn't care and that she refused to forgive me. At that point, I had done all I could do. I knew I had done right before God, and the ball was in her court. She still hangs on to it to this day, and I'm sorry to say is riddled with sickness and disease. And she seems to be one of the grumpiest people on the planet. She refuses to let go. I can honestly say that I have forgiven the things she has done to me and my children, and because I chose to forgive her, God changed my viewpoint of her. What I held in my heart as anger against her turned into pity, mercy and longsuffering. Both situations were not the most fun to walk through, but I gained wisdom in the processes.
Let us, as Christians, take the high road and forgive those who wrong us. Yes it's painful. But the benefits of obedience are far better than hanging on to something in the past. Let's stun the world and practice what we preach.
Blessings on all of you!
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