sunday's scuds (4-15-07)

Yesterday Dwight continued our No Strings Attached series. He brought a powerful message on forgiveness, focusing on forgiving others. Here are some the scuds:

• "Many of us are confused about forgiveness. We tend to think forgiveness is for the benefit of the offender."
• "We think to forgive someone is to do them a favor."
• "Our attitude is ususally, 'They owe me!'
• "We hold on to bitterness and rage and we begin to build a case against the offender thinking, that person needs to come to me and beg for forgiveness. If they do that then I will consider forgiving them."
• "We also tend to surpress our feelings and emotions. This leads to depression."
• We all have a tendency to hold on to anger and bitterness because we feel justified in doing so."
• "Jesus tells us through the parable of the unmerciful servant that we absolutely must forgive those who've wronged us."
• "Unforgivness in your life wreaks havoc on your body."
• "Jesus said: if you don't forgive others, I'm coming after you."
• "To refuse to forgive is to self-destruct."
• "If you fail to forgive you will drag the hurt into every one of your relationships."
• "70% of second marriages don't work out because the same issues, resenment, and bitterness that killed the first marriage never gets dealt with and so it carries into the second marriage."
• "Forgiveness is not for the benefit of those who've wronged you--forgiveness is for your benefit."

As Dwight wrapped up he gave us five things we need to do to "cut the strings." Here they are:

1. Identify the source
2. Acknowledge the pain
3. Grieve the loss
4. Cancel the debt (this is a willful choice)
5. Release the offender