Poison of Unforgiveness

Unforgiveness in and of itself is poison. When unforgiveness is directed toward others it’s bad enough, but what about when it’s directed inward?

Unforgiveness is a choice and while we think we are punishing the other person or punishing ourselves, the reality is we are usurping God’s standards and authority. It didn’t work out for Lucifer, it won’t work out for us either. 

Transcript

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Hey everybody, and thanks for joining me on Unfiltered with Jesse B. My apologies for not getting an episode on last night. I was dealing with a lost dog situation. But thankfully, after three days of that dog being here, I was able to reunite the dog with its rightful owners who were just as excited to get their dog back as I was excited to get her out of here. I love dogs, but this one was a nuisance, still in the puppy stage, but old enough that it developed some bad habits, which would take more time and patience to deal with than I was willing to invest. But nevertheless, she's back home and all's well that ends well. So a quick shout out to listeners in Omaha, Nebraska. And if you're enjoying these many episodes and would like to share them with others who you think would benefit from them, please do so. And if you haven't already subscribed, please do that too, and that way you won't miss out on any future episodes. So today I would like to talk about the subject of unforgiveness, not toward others, but toward yourself. Self-unforgiveness and guilt are two different things. Self-unforgiveness is the inability to let go of guilt or shame over past actions that lead to the constant beating up of oneself, which results in severe self-criticism, low self-esteem, and self-sabotage. Unlike guilt, that can drive a person to change specific behaviors in order to become a better person. Shame is a never-ending cycle of reliving the past which can lead to harmful statements such as I'm not worth anything or I'm an awful person rather than just somebody that said, Hey, I'm human, I made a mistake. We all have that inner critic that is really meant to be learned from, but not to be punished by. Unforgiveness in and of itself is destructive and cannot be compartmentalized. Eventually, unforgiveness will seep into every area of your life in which you will view yourself and others through the lens of that pesky spirit of offense. It's not far fetched to theorize that those who have had a hard time forgiving others probably have had a hard time forgiving themselves. In Isaiah 14, 13 through 14, we see that Lucifer is associated with the five I will statements, statements that expressed his pride and rebellion against God. I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will also sit upon the mount of congregation, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, and I will make myself like the Most High. When we deny forgiveness to someone, including ourselves, we are placing our standards and authority above the standards and authority of God. In fact, we are usurping God's authority, and as you can see from those verses in Isaiah, it didn't work out for Lucifer, and it's not going to work out for us either. Isaiah sixty four six says that we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness is as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Romans three twenty three, for there is no distinction, for we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, whom God put forward as propipropitiation by his blood to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier of one who has faith in Jesus. So you see, salvation is by grace, not merit. If God has forgiven you, yet you continue on in your self condemnation, you are in fact rejecting his grace and forgiveness. We also need to be reminded that as long as we are in Christ, we no longer are defined by our past, we are defined by Christ's redemption. As always, please correct me if I'm wrong, but nowhere in Scripture can I find where dwelling in guilt is a requirement for give for forgiveness and restoration. The requirement is to turn away from sin which allows you to move forward. Some of my favorite verses, the first one, first John one nine, says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Romans 8 1, therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And the third one, Isaiah 43, 18, and part of 19, forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing. Thanks for listening. Love you all, and most importantly, the Lord loves you too. Rest in him. Good night.