Bruce Lee was a paragon of strength and fitness. He performed some truly amazing feats. Like one-arm pushups using just a finger and thumb, or kicking a 100-lb. heavy bag to the ceiling, even ripping off 50 consecutive reps of one-arm chin-ups! Wow!
One of Lee’s feats stands out to me more than the others – “Lee could hold a 75-lb. barbell at arms length from a standing position, horizontally, in front of his chest, for 20 seconds”… and he only weighed 130-lb. when he did it! (hubpages.com) As strong and fit as Lee was, there would always be a limit to how long he could hold that 75-lb. barbell. His hand, arm, shoulder and back muscles would eventually fatigue and he simply had to let the barbell drop. Basic human physiology.
Have you experienced the difficulty of holding onto an offense against someone? Feeling like what that person did to you is unforgivable? Just knowing that your best option is to keep your guard up, heart walled off, so that this painful hurt doesn’t happen again? Maybe even finding comfort in the anger you feel toward that person?
Welcome to humankind! The proud way does not help – it hurts.
Sometimes it is so easy for us to be offended by something someone said, did, or didn’t do. In our pride we feel we have a right to be offended. We pick up offenses. We hold onto the offenses for a long time. We get tired and we should just drop them. But we decide to hold on in order to protect ourselves, get even, and prevent the pain from recurring in the future. We think we are doing the right thing by taking the matter into our own hands. But when pride leads the way our souls eventually fatigue and we end up in a depressed, bitter, sad state. Basic human flesh. (Matt 5)
What if, instead of staying in our own proud little worlds, we reached out? Actually tried to have a conversation with a friend, brother, or sister that offended us? Humbled ourselves to the point of vulnerability and, for the sake of what God holds dear – our relationships, admitted to our offenders we were hurt? What if…?
I love this quote by Lewis B. Smedes: “You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well.” And his even more famous quote: “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” (Matt 6:14-15)
Do you want to be free? The humble, forgiving way is the way to be. Even when the people we’re forgiving continue to act unforgivably. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you love people with the love of Christ, value them the way Christ does, and pray for them the way He does. Basic Christianity. The humble, loving and and best way to live!
– Pastor Josh