Ephesians 4:27, 29-32, The Message - Go ahead and
be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge.
And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of
foothold in your life.
Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come
out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.
Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit,
moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you
fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.
Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane
talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and
thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you
I like
hiking/climbing up mountains. Living in
Florida, I don’t get to do it as often as I’d like, but even so, I’ve done
enough of it that some friends have given me the nickname, “mountain goat.” One thing I’ve learned about climbing mountains
is that, if you are going to get to the top, you need footholds. Those holes and ledges on the mountain are
what give you the leverage to go higher.
The
apostle Paul uses this foothold image to show how evil can rise up within us if
we allow it. We provide footholds for “the
devil” when we let our anger drive our actions towards vengeance. As soon as we
return offense for offense, we make it all that much easier for those offenses
to multiply. The danger is that, eventually,
vengeance consumes us.
This is
why controlling how we act when others hurt us is such an important component
of the forgiveness process. It’s so
tempting sometimes to return evil for evil, but finding a way to act honorably
towards those who hurt us can deny the expansion of the offense in our hearts
and in our relationships. God’s Spirit within
us can help us with this difficult task, but the choice is ours. Furthermore, when we choose to give footholds
to negativity and malice, the Spirit’s influence on us is diminished. When that happens, even more opportunity for
the devil is created.
The
forgiveness practice and process denies these footholds by refusing to return
offense for offense. This can strengthen
the influence of the Spirit in us and help us move toward healing, freedom, and
wholeness. It helps us have a heart at
peace instead of a heart at war. We
become more like the God who has refused to return our rebellion and offense
with the like. We have been forgiven and
so we in turn, commit ourselves to forgiving. Tomorrow, we will talk about a technique
that can help us react more honorably when we are tempted to create a foothold
for evil.
Question: Can you think
of a situation that got worse because of the rash way in which you
reacted? What would that situation have
looked like if you had acted more honorably?
Prayer: God, help us
be aware of the footholds we have given to negativity, resentment, and
vengeance in our heart and relationships.
Show us the honorable path forward.
Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for people who are falling behind on their bills because of the changing
economic conditions.
Song: Brandon Heath -
The Light In Me
