Leviticus 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. 18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
This passage of scripture cautions us not to harbor bad feelings of hate, resentment, and anger, neither should we indulge the habit of holding grudges, not only amongst ourselves as Christians, but against anyone who may have hurt us or who may have violated our rights. When wrongs are committed by the Christian or against the Christian, a speedy reconciliation should be earnestly sought so as to assist in the healing process, and we are counseled to forgive and forget, instead of bearing old grudges for years and years to come. The reason for this counsel is because we ourselves are permanently indebted to Christ, after having sinned both ignorantly and deliberately against God, and because God has pledged to freely forgive, we also should follow in His footsteps by forgiving and forgetting wrongs done to us, no matter how grievous they may have been.
After King David had fallen into the very depths of sin, things took a turn for the worse as Absalom his son, maliciously courted the allegiance of the people and thus dethroned David for a while. Then as David and His chosen men were departing Jerusalem with tears and great sadness, a man by the name of Shimei, came out and started to curse and throw stones at them, calling the king a bloody man of Belial. This man who was related to the former king Saul obviously had an old grudge to settle with the king, and since David was now at his lowest point, he took the opportunity to vent his rage and anger which had been boiling inside of him for many years. Let's read:
2nd Samuel 16:5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. 7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: 8 The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.
David however did not yield to the temptation to avenge himself, nor did he retaliate in an ungodly manner, but rather cautioned his soldiers who were thirsting for revenge, to leave the man alone. The angry words thus spoken by Shimei represent a prime example of what the Bible speaks about as bearing grudges against anyone, especially when it pertains to the followers of Christ. In what we now refer to as "The Lord's prayer", we ask to be forgiven in proportion to how we forgive, and God is faithful to His promise of forgiveness, all He asks is that we return the favor whenever the need arises, for by so doing we can be an accessory to peace and tranquility, elements that are greatly needed, especially in our day.
We therefore end with a familiar passage of scripture which reminds us of our privilege to exercise forgiveness, and as we do so by the grace of God, His pardoning grace and mercies will be renewed to us every morning. Let's read:
Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
May we so live and do as our Savior who delights in mercy, and bids us to freely give as we have freely received. "Good night" and God bless!