Bible
Study: 1st Kings 18, 41 to 46 and Matthew 5,
20 to 26.
So when you are offering
your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has
something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be
reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Matthew
5, 23 to 24. In these words, Jesus underscores the importance of forgiveness
and reconciliation over the gifts and sacrifices we present to God. A better
way of understanding what Jesus wants from us is to see reconciliation itself
as a form of offertory more pleasing to God than money.
You may have millions of
naira to donate to God as your offering, your tithe or sacrifice but if anger,
hatred and unforgiveness lurks in your heart, then your millions are useless to
God. “I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be
liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to
the council; and if you say, “You fool,” you will be liable to the hell of
fire.” Matthew 5, 22.
It is easier to part with
money than to part with self-pride and ego. It is easier to give out money than
to say: “I am sorry.” Forgiving others is a sacrifice on its own right, it
takes a lot from us to be able to look at the one who has deeply offended us
and say: “I no longer have anything against you, I am no longer angry with you
and I no longer seek revenge.”
You will know when you have
offered the sacrifice of forgiveness by the time you remember what the person
did to you and instead of feeling sad, you just smile, instead of thinking of a
way to hurt the person back, you just realize that you have no desire even to
raise a finger against him or her. you will know when you have forgiven a
person who owes you money when you no longer desire to have that money back but
instead tell the person he or she can keep it.
Indeed, when your
fingernails grow long, it is the nails we cut not the finger itself. In every
relationship you have with people, nails are bound to grow because people are
not perfect so when quarrels, misunderstandings and tensions arise, aim at
cutting the nails rather than the relationships itself. Nobody is perfect, no
single human being is better than another. A sign of your own imperfection is
that you cannot stop your nails from growing in your finger and toes, you have
to keep trimming. Consider the fact that you need to take your bath every day
and wash your mouth twice daily. What does this tell you? Nobody is perfect. If
I cannot stay fresh and clean for days without washing, what makes me think my
opinions or even my attitude remains sacrosanct and free from error? What makes
me think that I have not done wrong or that I cannot correct something in my
character?
In every misunderstanding
you may have with anyone at all, the key to reconciliation is being able to come
to terms with your own imperfection and admit that you are wrong, admit that
you are not the only one who is hurt, then consider areas to trim or wash in
your own character. Most times, quarrels go on forever simply because no side
is able to admit his or her faults and each person keeps on accusing the other
of being wrong.
The greatest gift we can
ever give to God is being able to forgive others for the wrongs they have done
to us and forgive ourselves too for our own imperfections. It is a gift more
precious than gold, more precious than animal sacrifices of goats and bulls. Mercy
is greater than sacrifice. Hence amongst the spiritual works of mercy we need
to practice in this year of mercy are bearing wrongs patiently and forgiving
wrongs willingly. By forgiving others, our righteousness actually becomes
greater than that of the Scribes and Pharisees. This is because we cannot
pretend about it. If we simply use our lips to say we have forgiven when we
still bad towards the person, our actions will betray us even unconsciously.
See how the same Elijah who
was like an archenemy to King Ahab assured him in today’s first reading of rain!
And indeed the rain fell. Ahab himself came to realize that Elijah was not the
problem, instead it was his worship of Baal that was the problem, now he could
see that Baal was just a piece of wood and nothing more, incapable of causing
rain. The beauty of reconciliation is when we are able to see where we went
wrong and realize that the persons we thought were our enemies were just
victims of our own pride and lack of understanding.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, give me the
grace to forgive as you did on the cross and to realize that mercy is greater
than sacrifice. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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