In case you missed my June, On-line Encouragement email, I thought I would post it on my Blog. In March, I sent out an article about Forgiveness and I got so many comments saying that it helped with the difficult task of letting go of unfair offenses. It came from my first book, 12 Ways to Turn Your Pain Into Praise, which my publisher has now made is now available as an Ebook:
http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/9781593173166/Newton-Linda/Twelve-Ways-to-Turn-Your-Pain-Into-Praise-Biblical-Steps-to-Wholeness-in-Christ/1.htm
The article I sent out, was written for Salt Magazine, and since I had to limit my word count, I didn’t include this illustration about Bubba which really helps me. I also referenced this book, Mastering Your Moods. In it, the authors, Arterburn, Minireth and Meier offer great insight into the difficult task of forgiving, “Choosing not to forgive allows others to continue to abuse as we endlessly relive their offenses.”
That truth was brought home to me by, of all things, a TV show, The New Candid Camera. I was wandering through the living room when I saw him on the screen, a large man with tufts of dark hair, a belly-roll hanging over his belt in front, and if he had a name printed on the back of his belt, it would have read, “Bubba.” At that moment I felt the Lord throw down a red flag on the field of my mind and whisper, “Pay attention, Linda. You’re going to learn something here.”
The show host described the set up. A sign was posted on the cash register in a convenience store declaring, “We don’t make change.” A camera was hidden to record the responses of the people who were hassled by their gag. First a middle-aged woman walked in and laid a few items down on the counter. The show host, posing as a cashier, rang up thirteen dollars and some change. The lady gave him a twenty-dollar bill and the mock store clerk put it in the register and closed the drawer. Rather annoyed the woman informed him, “I believe you owe me change.”
“Hey, Lady, read the sign,” the cashier remarked. “We don’t make change.” At that point the censors had to beep out the irate lady’s protests.
Then “Bubba” shuffled in. He laid down his purchases that came to five dollars and some change. He, too, presented a twenty-dollar bill. The quasi clerk once again placed the twenty in the register and closed the drawer. Continuing to breathe through his mouth, Bubba uttered, “Uh, I think you owe me some money.”
“Read the sign, Buddy. We don’t make change.”
Bubba then turned on his heels and started to walk out of the store. The cashier moved from behind the counter and went after him, tapped him on the shoulder and inquired, “Hey, we owe you money, a decent amount of money. Why are you just walking away?” Bubba’s response was one I’ll never forget. With his hands in his pocket fumbling with his keys Bubba declared, “Uh, I decided a long time ago, I don’t rent space in my head to nobody.”
In that moment, I realized that I rent far too much space in my head to way too many people for far too little results! The authors of Mastering Your Moods were right. I was continuing the abuse as I ruminated about the resentment over and over again. Now I try to keep myself from renting space in my head to any stinkin’ thinkin’ not just offenses. Whether it’s worry, guilt, or fear, I try to catch myself before I waste my time renting space in my head on something God has already handled!