We all know the verses we love to hear. We even memorize some at times: verses of praise, verses containing God’s wonderful promises, verses that show God’s mercy and grace toward us. But what about the verses we don’t like. Aren’t those just as inspired as the “good” ones? Why is it we don’t memorize those?
We all know the Lord’s prayer of Matthew chapter 6, but do we memorize the verse following:
Matt. 6:14-15 (ESV) For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
We love to remember God will forgive our trespasses according to verse 14 but don’t remember verse 15. It’s a pretty important verse. There are conditions on God’s forgiveness here. It says if we don’t forgive others, God isn’t going to forgive us.
Why do you suppose it’s so important to God for us to forgive others? I think there are a couple of reasons. If we are holding something against a brother who has sinned against us, even if he has not asked for forgiveness, we are not in line with God’s instruction. We are in sin. Secondly, holding a sin against another, failure to show them grace, causes bitterness in us:
Heb. 12:14-15 (ESV) Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
Sometimes we love to dwell in our lack of forgiveness for others, in the grudge we hold against someone for some slight we’ve felt. God doesn’t act like that. There is no sin He will not forgive, and He tells us to forgive those who have sinned against us.
Many of us would rather only have the first part of 1 Peter 3:7 in our Bibles: (ESV) Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Again, there are consequences to not obeying God’s commands. If we feel like our prayers aren’t being heard, maybe we should look at how we treat our wives. Our wives are partners not servants. Yes, they are helpers (Gen. 2:18) but helpers in the sense of someone who stands side by side with us working toward the same goal. Men who treat their wives as less then equal are in danger of hindering their prayers.
Ex. 3:12 (ESV) “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
This may seem like an odd one to include in a list of verses we don’t like, but for those who had angry abusive parents, only the Holy Spirit working freely in them can achieve this. It doesn’t matter if you hated your parent(s) no matter the reasons. We are commanded to honor them because according to Matthew 6:15 our sins will not be forgiven if we fail to forgive those who have sinned against us.
Now forgiveness is not the same as forgetfulness. If our parent(s) was violent or in any other way abusive, we are still responsible to for the safety of out children.
Why is this important?
There are a few buffets locally where I really like to dine. They offer lots of treats and lots of vegetables. Unfortunately, the dishes that are most “treasured” and sweet to the tongue are the things that are often bad for me. The things I like less are what makes for a healthy body and mind. I need to strike a good balance in what I eat.
There’s a parallel here to Bible verses. We need to be a little more balanced in our Scripture reading. We treasure the “sweet” verses like John 3:16 and 1 John 1:9, and don’t dwell enough on the ones that bring unwanted consequences if we disobey. They are good for us. Maybe we need to spend a little more time better understanding those than we do.
1 Sam. 15:22-23 (ESV) And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”
Believers Armed and Dangerous 