Unforgiveness is Deadly

Alexander Pope, a 17th/18th century poet penned the words, "To err is human, to forgive divine" in his work An Essay on Criticism, published May 15, 1711. Pope was a satirist and critic, among other things. One of his sins against humanity and the crown, at the time, was being Catholic. It was interesting to read about 17th century Britain and their laws concerning this. Catholics were not allowed to teach, attend school. vote, or hold public office under penalty of imprisonment. On top of this he had many physical maladies that caused him to hunchbacked, have respiratory problems, and stunted growth.

I don't know what Mr. Pope's relationship with the Lord was like, but in worldly standards, he had every right to be upset and bitter. He would have many people today understanding if he was unwilling to forgive those who persecuted him because of his personal beliefs and practices, and not conforming to theirs. Yet, he penned the words, "To err is human, to forgive divine". I truly hope he believed that and wasn't just saying it. Jesus addresses this many times.


Jesus is recorded in the gospels speaking about forgiveness many many times. Depending on your preferred translation, it can be upwards of 45 or more verses where Jesus addresses forgiveness and forgiving. One passage that really stands out to me is found in Matthew 18:21-22. Right after Jesus gives instruction on how to work with someone who sins against you, Peter asks how many times are we supposed to forgive someone. Peter thinking he's being generous asks if he should forgive someone 7 times, and Jesus replies that forgiveness should be extended seventy times seven times. That's 490 times! I wonder if Peter or any of the others tried doing the quick math.

Is Jesus saying we are to give people 490 chances and then write them off? Absolutely not! He was giving them a ridiculously high number to make a point. We are to forgive and to forgive, and to forgive again, and again, and again, and again, and again. This isn't optional folks. We are to forgive. We can't pick and choose what we like. This isn't a GEICO commercial where you can name your own price. The price was set by God and the payment was made by God. To accept the gift of our sin debt to God being paid in full, we need to accept all of what Jesus taught and told us, not just the part that makes us feel good about who and where we are.

Remember when Jesus is teaching the disciples (later apostles) how to pray? Matthew 6:9-15 records Jesus' instruction on prayer and then He reiterates about forgiveness. He makes it very plain and simple. Forgive others and God will forgive you. Don't forgive others, and God won't forgive you. It doesn't get much plainer than that. To me that makes unforgiveness pretty deadly. If I don't forgive folks, God isn't going to forgive me? Yikes!

You are probably thinking, "Preacher, that's hard! You don't know what that dirty so and so neighbor of mine, who doesn't even go to church, did to me." You're right, I don't, and it doesn't matter. We are to forgive. Why? There are two good reasons. First, Jesus said to. That's pretty self-explanatory. But, if you need a second reason a quick look at Hebrews 12:15 will give you another reason. Paul tells us to make sure no "root of bitterness" grows up inside of us. He says that root of bitterness will corrupt many.

So not only does our unforgiveness put us in a bad position with God, but it also corrupts others. That root of bitterness will grow faster than untamed blackberry bushes. It will sprout up everywhere in your life and jump seemingly impassable obstacles and sprout up in others' lives around you too. Hanging on to faults and grievances you have with others is merely fertilizer for that root of bitterness, and we know where fertilizer comes from. When we're bitter, we have no joy, and it shows.

So friends, don't get caught up in yourself. Don't get caught up in the "it's not fair" crowd, or standing on your rights for retribution and justice. Those are all God's job, and I'm sure He can and does do them quite well. Let's forgive those around us, and live in a mindful state of forgiveness. That's the best weed killer for the root of bitterness and the quickest path back to joy in the Lord and life.