30 Days of Love - Day 14: Keep No Record of Wrongs

Day 14: Keep No Record of Wrongs

(Click here for Day 13)

“It (love) does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.” 1 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT)

Back in the day, one of my favorite arguing tactics was recalling how the other person had hurt me in the past. The moment they said something that stung or rang a little too true, I’d bring out the big guns and let ‘er rip. It never really worked the way I hoped it would. We’d both just end up more upset and feeling raw…sort of like ripping off a scab. It didn’t do any good, and in reality, made the wound deeper.

This is why the Word tells us to forgive—to keep no record of wrongs. We’ve talked about how God forgives us immediately when we repent. He doesn’t throw it back in our faces later on. As far as He’s concerned, that sin never happened.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

You could travel around the globe from now until eternity and not find it, that’s how far it’s gone! Seriously, you can’t measure that.

You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19

Please note that it doesn’t say God casts our sins into the depths of the sea, but attached to a fishing line so He can yank them back out of the depths when He needs to. Nah, God forgets it. He leaves it at the bottom of the ocean. Which brings me to my next point.

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

God’s mercies are new every morning, and ours should be too. We shouldn’t treat people based on things they’ve done in the past. Yes, there may be times you have to shut the door on people in your life because of abuse or other dangers associated with the relationship. But, even in those instances, you need to watch that you don’t hold on to grudges or thoughts of revenge toward those people. 

For your everyday issues—fights with your spouse, children being disrespectful, the neighbor letting the dog poop on your lawn and not picking it up—you need to wake up in the morning and believe that you will see God’s hand at work, rather than listen to what the devil has to say about those people—he is a liar after all! You may be the one person who continues to be pleasant to that person, giving them a lifeline to grab onto instead of losing all hope.

Homework:

Have you been holding on to the past? It’s time to let it go. Jesus said in Luke 9:62, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” You’ve put your hand to the plow. You’ve made a determination that you’re going to change how you live your life and do things God’s way. Don’t look back. Forget the past. If you keep bringing it up, you won’t heal from it. Let it go, and keep plowing forward. Pray and release anyone who has wronged you in the past. If you’ve been guilty of throwing another person’s past in their face, apologize to them, as God leads.