Its really about you!

Do you love yourself? Most people will say yes, l love myself, but do you really love yourself?

Will anyone in his or her right mind deliver themselves to tormentors? If you are reading this article l hope that you have never been tormented before, however if you have and you are now free, l am sure it?s a place you will never want to visit again. An experience that you would love to be erased from your mind.

So why would a person deliver himself or herself to tormentors? The only answer is to do it unknowingly, an action by default.

Matthew 18 23 ? 35 gives an account of a servant who his Lord forgave him of his debt, however when this servants fellow servant offended him, he refused to forgive.

Verse 31 ?35 says ?So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Why was the servant delivered to the tormentors? Because he refused to forgive his fellow servant. This servant was tormented because of unforgiveness. We have no idea what sort of torment this servant went through, however torment is not pleasant.

Torment can encompass a host of unpleasant things. Stress, disease, sleepless nights, and bitterness of heart the list goes on. If there is anything unpleasant in your life make sure that you do not have unforgiveness against anyone.

Forgiving others is firstly about you. It?s in your own interest to forgive. It doesn?t matter whether or not the person who offended you is repentant or whether or not they even said sorry. It?s mainly about you. Any teachable person who has offended you and knows he or she has been forgiven will be grateful, however it does not always work that way.

Here is another reason to forgive Matthew 6:14 ?15 ? For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses?.

Do you need forgiveness from God? We all do. Forgive to maintain an open heaven over your life.

So how do we forgive and what is the standard?

Ephesians 4:32 ? And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Colossians 3:13 also says ?Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye?.

The standard and how we should forgive is clear from the above scriptures.

God is a good God, a gracious God full of compassion. However when we refuse to walk according to his Word inevitably it has consequences.

Hurt can go deep, but God is able to help us release that hurt and forgive. God will not tell us to do what we cannot do. His Grace is sufficient and His love has been shed abroad in our hearts.