Takin' me some stock, turnin' me some pages...

So. I'm not much on the whole "new year's resolutions" thing. January 1 is just another day...just another flip of a calendar page. It's no more momentous than...oh, say, April 21, or September 17 or December 11.

But. It is, upon occasion, perfectly acceptable (and advisable, even) to sit down, tear the past apart, view it with a critical eye, and give some thought to the days ahead, be they the wintry days of January, the Ides of March, the Summer Solstice...or just plain old next week.

If you need a reminder of what the last few months have been like for me, read a few posts down. 'Nuff said. And in the midst of the flurry of retrospection/introspection going on here, I've realized I've enjoyed the thick cape of anger and resentment in which I've wrapped myself since September. SO...I guess the word for this day, this week, this month--maybe even the entire year--is going to be "forgive". Not sure I really like the taste of that on my tongue. REALLY not sure I like the feeling of being stripped naked. I kind of liked that cape.

But. (Again.) I read this guy's blog today. And it nailed me. So, amidst the other "resolutions" I'm considering (stay tuned--I'm feeling the need to make myself accountable), forgiveness is going to be a biggie. I don't want to be weak and self-righteous. Or otherwise ugly. Here's part of what he had to say:

Forgive Those Who Have Wronged You
"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:19-21)

In the course of a year, it is possible to build up many offenses and personal grievances at others. Left unaddressed, these grievances fester and grow. They turn the heart black and the body weak. They foster a spirit of vengeance and misguided self-righteousness. The short of it is this: Unforgiveness leads to bitterness. Bitterness curdles the mind and the spirit.

Fresh starts and new years should begin with forgiveness for others. Having a genuine spirit of forgiveness towards those who have wronged us is a mark of biblical Christianity. It is an evidence that we have been redeemed, and that we are praying lawfully: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).

Successful Christians are men and women who are free from bitterness. They have learned the principle modeled by our Lord Jesus Christ who, while suffering death at the hands of people he had never wronged, was able to say “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:24).

Bitterness comes from being unwilling to forgive. Bitter people are small people. They are unsuccessful people. They are people who cannot move forward. They are people who believe that the personal wrongs against them are so great that they — the offended — are entitled to do to their offenders what they pray the Lord Jesus Christ will never do to them: refuse to forgive.