Barbie shares her thought for the week on the hidden cost of unforgiveness.

I recently saw a news article about an illegal waste supersite near Kidlington. I’m sure we all saw it. In there, there was an estimated 21 to 22,000 tonnes of domestic and commercial waste that were illegally dumped there. Not only did they cause an eyesore, but also there was so much toxic waste that was seeping into the environment and causing problems.

This made me think a little bit about unforgiveness. Sometimes we let unforgiveness stay in our lives. We let it become a toxic waste site where it can poison our emotions, it can poison our thoughts, it can poison our very peace. And what it does is it causes bitterness and hurt that doesn’t go away, even though we can sometimes think that we’re putting it somewhere safe.

Matthew 6 verse 14 tells us that God says that if we forgive others, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. I know that what we need to do with unforgiveness is give it to God. We need to give it to him so that he can deal with it from the root. We need to give it to him and know that he is in charge of it and it is his to deal with, not ours to carry anymore. By forgiving somebody what we do is we close the doors that allow them access into our lives that they shouldn’t have.

The council cleaned up the waste tip at Kidlington. It cost an estimated £6 million to clear it. When we give our unforgiveness to God, He clears it not only the top layer that looks unsightly, but He clears it right down. When they cleared the toxic waste site, they didn’t just remove the toxic waste, they also had to remove layers of soil underneath where the toxic waste had seeped into. When we give our unforgiveness to God, He doesn’t just clear the top surface of it, He clears it right down to the bottom and makes sure that all the toxicity is gone. Give your unforgiveness to God today.

Every week one of our members shares a short thought aiming to inspire you for the week. You can watch previous Thought For The Week videos by clicking here.