In his letter to the church at Ephesus, the Apostle Paul writes, “Let all bitterness and
wrath, anger, and clamor and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice
(Ephesians 4:31).”
Most of us will agree high school is a high watermark in the progression of our lives.
As student studies, encounter social relationships and participate in sports, they are
better prepared to become productive citizens, but immature emotional student
cripples their goal of acquiring significant growth. Petty rivalries between students lead to
the development of irrational conf and it. It creates what I would call the high school blues.
High School most certainly is a time when individual personalities can clash. For
example, two young players compete on a high school football team for the highly sought-after quarterback position; however, only one player can win the prize. The
winner’s announcement can have negative results as emotions arise from the youth
who becomes angry and jealous of his rival.
Another example is two female students with an infatuation with the same young
man, and he shows little interest in either of them, and conflict finds its way into the lives
of the three.
Unresolved issues allow anger and negative emotions to develop, which inhibits the
ability to forgive. Without forgiveness, unforgiveness turns into emotional stress. Individuals can best achieve spiritual growth when they are willing to face challenges.
It may not be comfortable to stand before one with whom you have a problem and ask for
forgiveness, but trying to avoid the pain by walking away makes you the loser.
We struggle with forgiveness because we want to avoid pain, but in this season of the
In the Christian year, it is helpful if we remember that Jesus not only died on a cross, he
embraced His divine objective by carrying his cross to the place of his crucifixion, and
then He died on the cross. Christians believe Jesus was resurrected from the dead. I think the
same Holy Spirit that resurrected Jesus can empower you and me to rise above petty
issues that otherwise would hold us shackled to emotional, psychological, and sociological
burdens.
Twenty or thirty, perhaps even forty years from now, if one’s anger has not subsided
and forgiveness remains unaccounted for, the venom of unforgiveness can reap havoc
and destruction to anyone who refuses to forgive. Unforgiveness is dangerous because of the
the person who welcomes unforgiveness prevents themselves from fully developing into the
the person God desires for them to become.
Conflict arises from opposing agendas. Several years ago, when my daughters were
little girls, I carried one of them to the Pediatrician to be treated for a severe Cold. At
that time, the doctor’s office had toys on the floor in the waiting area, and though sick, some children tried playing with these toys. I watched as two children had to find a
way to avoid selfishness as they played with these toys. I don’t know how they did it, but
the children worked it out. They resolved their differences without intervention from
adults. The Bible says, “Out of the mouth of babes, and sucklings hast thou ordained
strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightiest still the enemy and the avenger
(Psalm 8:2).”
It is unfortunate, but some of us–who are very grown, have not found the ability to
offer forgiveness. Instead, some hold on to old stuff for so many years, but in essence, this holding on causes us to hold ourselves in captivity. Full maturity
comes when we can relate such juvenile behavior in contrast to the words Paul wrote in
his letter to the church of Ephesus and “Let all bitterness and wrath, and anger, and
the clamor and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice (Ephesian 4:31).”
Have you witnessed behavior like this? Was it a friend who won’t come to the Reunion
because of an incident in the 8th grade? Was it you? Life is too short to be controlled by
the past.
