Lesson for today.
"Do not be quick to take offense, for the taking of offense lodges in the bosom of fools." - Ecclesiastes 7:9
You probably agree that we should forgive other people, but you may feel that it is not always easy to do so. That is because we can have strong emotions when we have been offended by others. For example, we might feel angry or betrayed. Maybe we feel that we need to make sure the person is punished for what he did, or maybe we want to make him suffer as we have. We might be so upset that we feel we will never be able to forgive the other person. If you have similar feelings, what can you do so that you can be willing to forgive others, as Jehovah asks us to do? But what should you do if you still are upset even after you took time to calm down?
Think about why you are upset. Is it because what happened was unjust? Is it because someone was not polite to you? Or is it because you think that the other person tried to hurt you on purpose? Was what he or she did really so bad? If you try to figure out why you got upset, you can figure out what Bible principles will help you to change those feelings. Then you can react in a way Jehovah approves. (Read Proverbs 15:28; 17:27.) When you think carefully about the facts instead of about your feelings, you may be more willing to forgive. Even though this can be difficult, the Bible can help you to understand your real feelings about the situation and to imitate Jehovah’s willingness to forgive. We can be less angry or upset about the mistakes of other people if we try to understand why the mistakes happened, realize that we may not know all the reasons for the mistakes, and are willing to forgive. We should not be easily offended.
Ecclesiastes 7:9 says: “Do not hurry yourself in your spirit to become offended, for the taking of offense is what rests in the bosom of the stupid ones.” Many times we may think that others have done something on purpose to offend us. But because they are imperfect, they really just made a mistake. Or we may not have understood what really happened. So try to remember that you may not know all the facts about what someone does or says. Be willing to show love for the person and to forgive him. You will be happier if you do this. You may be willing to forgive others, but that does not mean that you have to approve of their wrong conduct or pretend that it does not hurt others. But it does mean that you should not continue to feel upset because of their wrong conduct. You have to try to feel peaceful inside. Some people think constantly about the bad things that have happened to them and do not feel peaceful.
Do not let anger control you. You cannot be happy if you stay angry with other people. So be willing to forgive!
