SUNDAY SERMON - "Whenever someone wrongs you, count up to ten and your anger will disappear.”

The words of my Pastor still rings in my head today even though he spoke the words twenty years ago. I unsuccessfully practiced this dictum for several years before I gave it up altogether.

Whenever someone wronged me, I would start counting "One, two, three ----- FOUR ---- FIVE!...” by the time I reached six, I was more angry than when I started. I later reasoned that it is impossible to remove anger from someone’s heart by counting up to ten.

Whenever you are wronged, a poor memory should be your best response. What I realised later in life was that, while I was straining under the weight of anger, the person with whom I was mad was busy eating and drinking oblivious of my agony.

"Forgive your enemies,” so says the Bible. But, why? Because nothing annoys them more than that. There is no revenge as sweet as forgiveness. The only people you should try to get even with are those who have helped you.

Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note, torn into two and burned up, so that it can not be shown against anyone. A person displays the highest point of strength when he forgets to revenge and forgives an injury.

Someone once said, "He who can not forgive destroys the bridge over which he may one day need to pass.”

One sure way of limiting your potential is to live in a state of unforgiveness. The weight of unforgiveness will weigh a person down because it represents a load we can not afford to carry and continue with our normal life.

Whenever your mind is encumbered with the offences that have been done to you, your trouble will grow; but when you forgive, your troubles go away.

Many people puffed up with anger will say "But you do not know what so and so did to me!”

Yes, that might be true, but it is important to know what unforgiveness will do to you. Unforgiveness leads to great bitterness which represents a deadly misuse of the creative flow of power from above.

Great amounts of brain power are used up when you constantly ponder a negative situation, and plot how you will get even.

This kind of thinking is completely unproductive and people who burn bridges often find themselves isolated and alone in enemy territory.

Life is an adventure in forgiveness, in fact if you look back in your life; you will discover that the great moments that you chose to forgive give you more joy than the times you did not forgive.

I recommend that every person should have a special cemetery where he buries the faults and offences of his friends, neighbours and enemies alike. To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and you will discover that the prisoner was you. The story that follows, demonstrates that forgiveness is the true reflection of love.

A young man and his girlfriend went to study in the United States of America. After three years of study, the man came back to Africa and left his girlfriend who had another three years to go.

The man got a good job and settled down. When the girlfriend remained in the US, she got involved with some man and became pregnant and had a baby girl.

Since she stopped communicating with her boyfriend in Africa, she believed that the he never knew anything. When she finally came back home with the kid, she left the kid with her mother in the village and came to the city.

She made contact with her former boyfriend and discovered that the man still loved her very much and he even proposed that she should straightaway move in so they can live together.

She eventually moved in with the man. She planned, one night, to let the cat out of the bag and tell the man the whole story.

She reasoned that it would be better to tell the story before things went too far; for she feared that the man would one day find out her secret and chase her away.

That night she cried a lot while the man, on the other hand, appeared quite sympathetic and enquired what the problem was.

She started by saying "My dear, I have something to tell you; when I remained in the US...” The man cut her short and said "Do not worry your head darling, I know all about what happened, and about the kid. In fact, today I went looking for a kid’s bed and beddings so that you can bring the sweet girl to the house to live with us.”

The woman fainted! She had never known that there can be love like that in the world. Yes, I do believe that there is love, and that human beings are capable of manifesting that love. That type of love is greater than gaining all knowledge of the mysteries of the world.

That is Godly love. That is not "love” that resides in the hollow chambers of the human heart, but love that resides deep in the human spirit and soul.

I now understand when Paul says in the Roman text we read at the beginning that "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

We, in this country are going to pass through a season of forgiveness, not remembering. This will be a season dedicated to spreading the spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness and not that of apportioning blame. Forgiveness will make us all move forwards.

E-mail: redplan20002001@yahoo.com