"Biblical forgiveness doesn't keep score."

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-04) from his book, Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe (p. 30). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

But oh, we love to keep score. One guy after a fight with his wife said, "She was historical." The other guy said, "Don't you mean hysterical?" He said, "No, I mean historical. She brought up everything I have ever done wrong." So the question is, "Do you do that?" This thought says, "Biblical forgiveness doesn't keep score."

Larry says here, "When Jesus spoke of forgiving seventy times [Luke 17: 3-5] (or seven times seventy as some scholars translate the passage), he wasn't suggesting we keep a tally sheet. He was using hyperbole— or exaggeration for effect— to remind us to keep on forgiving."

He then goes on to say, "I think I know why. When it comes to keeping track of life's hurts, conflicts, and injustices, we all tend to use some rather creative math. We have an amazing ability to undercount our own misdeeds while multiplying the wrong doing of others."

And keeping score means we haven't fogiven them. Larry says, "When it comes to forgiveness, it's foolish to refuse to forgive others when God has already forgiven us. That's why biblical forgiveness always starts with a look in the mirror. It doesn't start with the wrong that was done to me; it starts with the wrongs that I have done to others. It asks, 'What have I done and how have I been forgiven?” And then it offers that same kind of forgiveness to others."

As Jesus said in the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." (Matthe 6:12 NIV). That mean, you still will remember it but you don't use it against them.

Do you do that to your kids, to your spouse, to your friends, to others?

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