'Mark 11:24-26': 'Hold no resentment towards anyone- a basic principle of Blessing
There are many strategies that the enemy will use in order to stop your tracks or in order to destroy you. One effective method consists in clashing you against a person who has been endowed with the blessing of God.
In Genesis 12:3, God tells Abraham:
'I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
In other words, the people blessing Abraham will be blessed but those cursing him will be cursed by God. This verse displays a simple show of spiritual mathematics.
On a daily basis, we meet or see people we either know or don't really know. Some of them carry a special blessing from God in the same model of the Abrahamic blessing. And at times, Satan will plant a seed in our hearts that will lead us into clashing against those people.
Think of it for a moment:` have you ever met someone and suddenly you just disliked them for no reason? Strange, isn't it?
What does the Bible say about resentment?
We see those things everyday: 'supermarket cashiers disliking a customer without knowing him, children mocking a passer by, people dissing a total stranger...These are few examples of how we curse ,hate or resent people . The worst part is the fact that we don't even know them well enough to make a judgement call.
Let us go deeper in the examples I have mentioned:
'Let us suppose that Janet works in a city office where there is another guy named Nathan who is starting as a new employee. When Janet sees Nathan, a seed of hate is planted in her heart and suddenly she expresses a total dislike for Nathan. She hates him, she does not greet him. Every time Nathan walks in the office corridor, Janet constantly tells her colleagues how much she hates Nathan and how much she wishes she could squeeze his neck...
On the other hand,Janet does not know that Nathan has a blessing coming from God. That blessing blesses those who bless Nathan but it curses those who curse Nathan. And Satan has finally found a way to get Janet in trouble...'
Does Janet story sound familiar?
We see people we don't know and we curse them,or laugh at them for whatever reason. And when things go wrong in our lives, we actually wonder where is the source of all our troubles.
Many people were doing very well until suddenly, things turned sour in their lives with no explanation.
We all have, from time to time, mocked a stranger, cursed a person, hated, dissed or resented someone who did nothing wrong to us. The worst part in our actions, is the fact that we measure those acts as benign or insignificant. And because those acts seem insignificant, we hardly bother to ask for forgiveness. Because those acts seem insignificant to us, we don't remember them after a day or two.Consequently we carry stuff on our backs due to the way we made people feel through our negative emotions ,silly words or bad attitude.
We do it in restaurants, in schools (through bullying),at work, in public places, in shops...but we don't really know who we are hurting. And this is the worst part.
We hurt and curse blessed people and as a result, curses follow us.
Someone might be asking:' how do I prevent myself from acting that way?'
Here is my response: 'Just love and respect everybody. (I did not say that you should love all their actions)'.
Quench those unexplained feelings of hate.
A SHORT LESSON ON THE PEOPLE WE DON'T KNOW
In Hebrews 13:2, it is written:
'Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.'
We traditionally assume that Angels always appear with wings and shining lights...but it is not always the case. Have you ever been helped by a stranger that you have never seen again after encountering him/her? That person could be an angel.
When we hate someone 'out of the blue', we may be repelling an angel who was meant to assist us.
In Matthew 25:31-46, the Bible describes an event that will occur on the last day where Jesus will separate the goats from the sheep. According to the passage, the goats represent the people who never shown hospitality or assistance to the brothers and sisters of Jesus ( the terms 'brothers and sisters' are used in Matthew 25:40). On the other hand, the sheep represent the people who had shown hospitality and assistance to the brothers and sisters of Jesus. If you read the full passage, you will find out that the story does not end well for the 'goats'...
So, who are the 'brothers and sisters of Jesus'?
To this question, Jesus replied: 'For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." (Matthew 12:50)
Matthew 25:31-46 refers to 'Jesus brothers and sisters' as those who do the will of God.
Everyday, there are disciples who do the will of God and they live for It. Those people are not on TBN, or on the cover of magazines, or behind the pulpit. We meet them, we seat next to them, we work with them, we talk to them and we don't always know who they really are. Those people carry God's blessings with them, and because we don't know them at first sight, we ought to be careful about the way we treat anyone.
Let us end this teaching with this passage:
'Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.' (Mark 11:24-25)
When you pray, if you hold anything against someone, forgive it. Notice that the passage says 'forgive it'and not 'forgive him/her'. The word 'forgive' means ' stop feeling angry or resentful towards someone for an offence, a flaw or a mistake. The same word also means 'cancelling' something.
At times we feel angry and we hold certain feelings of resentment towards people because of the way they look, because of their race,their nationality, their physical features, their age,their gender,their beauty,their aura,their charisma or genius levels etc...Today Jesus is telling you: 'Let go of those feelings. Cancel them.'
Because if you don't forgive it, then our Father in Heaven will not forgive your transgressions as well (reference Mark 11:26).
Many people are under bondage because they felt for the trap of the enemy who planted seeds of hatred or resentment in their hearts. And this resulted in them not enjoying a full blessed life. Those feelings of resentments can easily attract misfortune on you. The enemy wants you to derail through your resentments.. In the same way that God has plan for you, the Devil also has one. Don't fall for the device of the Devil.
Let us all be considerate of the way we treat people we know and don't know.
God Bless you.