the art of forgiving
by Dr. Henry Brandt
W h i l e o n t h e mission field one time two young women came to me for a word of advice. There were three of them living together in the same apartment. Their question was, “What should we do about a selfish roommate?” (They referred to the one who wasn’t there.) “She was the one who picked out the color of the walls.” The other injected, “You should see the stove we have. She de cided which one to get.” The first came back, “The way our place was ar ranged is because she wanted it that way.” And finally, “We even flavor the food the way she likes it. What can you do about a person like that?” It sounded hard to believe coming from missionaries. I asked them, “What have you done about it?” They were somewhat shocked at this statement. “Why, we haven’t done anything about it.” “You mean she doesn’t know how you feel?” I questioned. They quickly responded, “Why no. We couldn’t tell her what we think.” I pointed out what the Bible has to say regarding a grievance against a broth er. We are told to go to him and get it straightened out. But instead of fol lowing God’s prescription for an agi tated heart these two were murmuring, complaining and grumbling about their roommate. She, in turn, evidently had no idea of their inner feelings. The reason these women were miser able was not because they were on the mission field. It was because they weren’t living the way the Bible orders. People who violate some of the basic, principles of Christian living end up in consulting rooms. One of the last
things Jesus said to His disciples was, “These things say I unto you that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” The man who is filled with joy is the individual who knows God’s commandments and keeps them. An interesting experience happened to me recently in the Congo. We were visiting in the Stanleyville area. There are some fierce tribal wars still going on there. Yet everywhere we went we were welcomed by friendly people. They told us how glad they were that we were there. The one request they repeatedly made was, “Send us more missionaries!” That may sound encour aging, but think what the missionary is up against. Two years ago some of these very same men, who welcomed us so warmly, had spit in the faces of the missionaries. Did you ever have somebody spit in your face? What would you do? (They spit in the face of our Saviour.) Some of these missionaries, several years ago, found themselves grabbed by a mob, bound and thrown into the back of a pickup truck. They were tor tured and threatened with death. Beaten before mockers they bravely held out for the Lord Jesus Christ. The natives stole their cars; they threw them out of their houses and ruined the furniture. Then they said to the missionaries, “Get out! We hate you!” How the tide has changed again to day. What is the reason? When the foreigners left, the natives took over the stores. Things went well as long as there was merchandise. But when the stock was gone they didn’t know 10
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