Ephesians 4: 31-32
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
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Bitterness=acidity, especially poison.
Wrath=(breathing hard) fierceness, with indignation.
Anger=(excitement of the mind) violent passion, vengeance.
Clamor=an outcry of tumult or grief, crying.
Slander=vilification, railing, evil speaking.
Malice= depravity, malignity, evil, wickedness.
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Kind=useful in manner or morals, better, easy, goodness, gracious, kind.
Tender-hearted=well-compassioned, sympathetic, full of pity.
Forgiving=grant as favor, gratuitously, in kindness, pardon, rescue, deliver, frankly forgive, freely give, grant.
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So we are to depart from all that would be hurtful or would injure the other person; and freely forgive them, having compassion for them, seeking to do them good, to bless them. To be Christ to them.
God has freely forgiven us in Christ, when we did not deserve to be forgiven. No matter what we do, we could never deserve forgiveness, but God forgives us anyway. So we shouldn't wait for the other to apologize before we extend forgiveness to them. This frees us from the bitterness that grows from blaming and holding grudges.
God always provides an example for how He wants us to think, speak and do. He has already given us His best, His firstborn, and He forgives us freely, drawing us to Himself and filling us with His good Holy Spirit to give us the ability to do what He asks us to do.
God is changing us, molding our characters to think and act according to the rightness and righteousness of Christ Jesus our Lord. He only asks us to cooperate with Him in conforming our thinking processes to align with His. And to deliberately depart from any attitude that is contrary to His grace and graciousness.
We are responsible for everything we choose; what we allow our eyes to see, or our ears to hear, or our minds to dwell on any kind of entertainment or teaching or attitude; to decide if it is edifying or breaking down that good character God is building in us.
May we continually watch ourselves, so that we don't slip into any of these negative frames of mind; and keep ourselves always in the attitude of prayer, practicing the presence of God, as Brother Andrew put it, having a running conversation with Him all day every day.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
