Keeping Your Mouth Closed!

"Graciousness is shown by what you don't say, even if what you could say would be true."  {Total Forgiveness}


One of the ways to show forgiveness is to keep your mouth shut! Yep, that's right...forgiveness can be as simple (ok, it isn't that simple) as not speaking out against the person that hurt you. If we are going to show forgiveness to someone we have to stop talking about him or her. This action, or rather non-action, can be extremely difficult. Normally, when we hurt we want to repeat the event to others. Sometimes we do this because we hurt so bad and need to get it out. Sometimes it is a form of revenge. We spread what the person did to us in an effort to tarnish their reputation. I know that I have been guilty of repeating what has happened to me to others. So what is the alternative?

Tell it to God. He already knows anyways, so it isn't like you are spreading gossip all over the place. He can absorb all our pain.  He is patient in listening. He won't spread around what we tell Him.  Finally, what we say will not affect his thoughts on the offender.  He makes His own judgment calls on those around us. King David was an expert in this type of "therapy". If you look through the book of Psalms you will find a plethora of imprecatory prayers. These prayers speak about enemies and the punishment that should befall them.  One of the things that I have noticed that if you tell on your enemies to God, you lose the drive for revenge.  You give the hurt over to God to deal with as He sees fit, not you. Is that what forgiveness is...give over the hurt to God?