CAMPBELLTON, New Brunswick, May 16, 2023 – At the root of every miserable Christian with weak faith and a messed-up life is unforgiveness, is a bitter heart, is finger-pointing and a refusal to let go of grievances.

John, in one of his letters, says that you can’t love God and at the same time hold a grievance against someone. Holding a grievance cancels out your love for God. What’s worse is that holding a grievance while saying you love God makes you a hypocrite, because you can’t hate and love at the same time. If you hate someone (which is what you’re doing if you hold a grievance against them), it’s impossible to love God.

And you know what Jesus says about hypocrites.

You definitely do not want to be on Jesus’ hypocrite list.

Did you know that you cannot get into Heaven with bitterness in your heart? If you die with a bitter heart you go to Hell first, and then to the lake of fire for all eternity. That’s the reward for having a bitter heart from refusing to let go of a grievance.

Having faith in God and Jesus necessarily means that you love them and trust them, but you can’t love them and trust them and at the same time hold a grievance against someone. It’s impossible to do that, and if you say you’re doing it, you’re lying to yourself.

Do you have any bitterness in your heart? Is there someone you’re still blaming, someone you talk about when they’re not around, rehashing what they did to you? Maybe you still throw it in their face when you talk to them. Maybe you don’t do it directly; maybe you just mention the grievance in passing. Or maybe your grievance is against the government or against a system you see as stacked against you. Maybe you’re blaming society in general or even the devil. Whatever it is, if it involves finger-pointing, you show that you’re still blaming, still hanging onto your grievance.

If you’ve forgiven someone – genuinely forgiven them – you don’t talk about the grievance anymore, not to your friends, not to your relatives, not to your lawyer, not to law enforcement, not to your therapist, not to your priest or minister, not to the person you’ve forgiven, not even to yourself OR TO GOD. If the grievance comes to mind, you simply say within your heart “I’ve chosen to forgive”. Anything else means you haven’t.

It’s important to note that you need to make the choice to forgive as many times as the grievance comes to mind. If it comes to mind 70 times 7 times a day (or more), you make the choice to forgive 70 times 7 times a day (or more). It’s that simple.

Did you know that a heart bitter with unforgiveness will separate you from God? If you’re separated from God, you’re separated from Jesus, and if you’re separated from God and Jesus, there’s no way you’re going to make it Home, never mind the miserable messed-up life you’re going have for the rest of your time on Earth.

At the root of every messed-up, weak-in-the-faith, unhappy Christian is a bitter heart that is harbouring unforgiveness. The only way to overcome it is to make the choice to forgive (as many times as you have to), and then God can forgive (heal) you.