And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

— Matthew 6:12

Jay Adams, a Christian psychologist, tells about a couple, Sue and Wilbur, who came for counseling. She was quite angry and was there because her doctor told her to come. (She had an ulcer).

Reaching down into a shopping bag-sized purse, she pulled out an 8 ½” x 11″ manuscript, about an inch thick, with single-spaced, type-written text on both sides of the page. She slapped it down on the desk and said, “That’s why I am here.”

Wilbur said, “Oh.” He picked it up to see what it was. When he opened it, he saw a careful documentation of every slight, every hurt, every word, every deed he had committed against her for thirteen years—which, by the way, proved in subsequent visits to be an exceedingly accurate report.

She said, “That is what is giving me ulcers.”

The counselor said, “I want you to know, young lady, that it has been many a year since I have met anyone—she began to smile and Wilbur slid down even farther in his seat—as hostile and as resentful as you are!” With that, Wilbur sort of sat up a little bit straighter. The counselor said, “This is a record not only of the faults your husband has committed against you, but also of the sin you have committed against him and against God and against your own body, for which you are now paying a price.”

It is God’s job to avenge, and it is because we serve a just God that we can leave it to Him. Forgiveness is never easy, but it is right.

Question to ponder:
Is there anybody toward whom you are harboring resentment? What can you do today to make it right?