Let Forgiveness Begin with you this New Year

Proverbs chapter sixteen and verse 24 reminds us that pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body.

As you gather this holiday to fellowship with family members, choose this time to right all wrongs with relatives whom you have had much difficulty forgiving. This is how Writes describes the damage you inflict on yourself when you refuse to forgive others. He noted that the moment you begin to hate a man, you become his slave. He controls your thoughts. He controls your feelings and even your dreams. Stress hormones constantly surge through your bloodstream and wear your body down. The one you hate hounds you whenever you go.

This year please be reminded again that Christmas is all about God’s love and forgiveness. He came to love and forgive and if you allow Him to take over, He can blot out all the hurts that burdens you down. Replace those negative thoughts and comments with soothing pleasant words. Remember, Solomon said that pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body.

Allow me to share with you something I read about a troubled marriage written by the late Ann Landers. Miss Landers told of a marriage that was on the rocks due to sarcastic, unkind, and critical communication permeating the home. The couple was repeatedly verbally attacking each other. Finally, the wife one day tried an experiment. She deliberately avoided all negative remarks about and to her husband. Many times she had to bite her tongue and forgive him. Within a few months, the couple was again on friendly terms. This brief story proved that eliminating negative attitudes and words saved their marriage. A researcher on marriage noted that one negative comment to your partner can cancel out five positive comments or actions. Another expert suggested that the ratio may be as high as twenty to one.

The same is true in our friendships, family and church relationships. Therefore, let us again remember Solomon’s words of wisdom when he reminds us that a gentle tongue with its healing power is a tree of life. So lets enjoy a meaningful and fulfilled life this New Year by making a deliberate effort to truly forgive others. By: Celeste Lockhart

God Bless!