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 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
-Matthew 6:12
There it is again…the ice-pick-in-the-brain sound of your ringing phone. How many times has that been today? Three? Ten? Why do they keep calling? Let's see, you didn't answer the first time so what makes them think you will answer the next dozen times? Just who do they think they are anyway? You told them yesterday that you didn't have any money to give them and they said fine. So what's the deal?
Do they have any idea how horribly offensive their incessant calling is or how disruptive it is to your peace? Yet, there it is, the same number on your caller ID, over and over again. I bet you'd like just five minutes alone with the guy on the other end of that phone. You have circumstances. Don't they get it?
 
Just imagine: What if there came a day when all the credit card companies of the world, suddenly decided to forgive all their debtors? Oh, to see such a day! On that day, the world would be filled with wonder; butterflies and rainbows abound; people smiling, clapping and skipping about, like children as birds sing to the rhythm of unbridled joy as people lift their credit card statements to the sky, upon which is conspicuously stamped-- "Paid In Full".
Who would refuse such a gift? Who would choose to pay, though the knowledge of freedom is offered? The answer to that might surprise you.
Many believers condemn themselves needlessly. Look, repent and move on. Just because you are a believer does not mean that you will never sin again. Yes, you know the truth. No, you shouldn't sin. Yes, you feel like a fool. Now, take that information and find your knees. Your Father forgives. Your enemy wants you to punish yourself as much as possible. He likes that. That is kind of his thing. And, in the fray of life's constant whirling, we should not forget to forgive ourselves.
Sometimes it is much easier to forgive our debtors; those who owe us something...money, time or an apology--whatever. But what about our creditors? What about that guy on the phone who wants to take our money? It can be pretty hard to forgive that guy can't it? He will not relent. He does not know us, he does not love us, he does not care what we like or how many kids we have in school. Really, he has no idea who we are or what we have been through. He represents the very opposite of grace. Forgive him. Forgive your creditor and remember that he is also a person with hopes, fears and his own bills.
No, he doesn't deserve it; especially the ones who are rude or even vulgar. In fact, who among us deserves even the smallest amount of grace? Of course, the answer is nobody. We can only give it or receive it, but we can never deserve it. Never. And as soon as we start making distinctions between those who deserve grace and those who do not, we become instruments of entitlement, which--in every functional way imaginable--is the same as pride.
Forgive him.
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