When I was growing up, there is this story we were told by my teacher in the classroom. It was a story filled with moral and a big word that changed my life. She talked about not forgiving each other but in a story. It goes this way:
There was a teacher who told the students to bring tomatoes to school the next day and the tomatoes they would bring would be the number of people they hate. The students obeyed and brought the tomatoes the next day. Some of the students brought five, some ten, some twenty. The teacher then told them to carry these tomatoes everywhere they go for two weeks.
They did as they were instructed and for a week, they started feeling uncomfortable and complaining to the teacher. After a week, the teacher then asked them how did they feel carrying the tomatoes all about?
The students started complaining with these replies: It was heavy, it was smelling, I couldn't bear the awful odour it brings to me etc.
The teacher now started her lesson "This is just how you feel when you don't forgive those who offends you. Those of you who were with much tomatoes, do you know how many bitterness in your hearts? Just the way you aren't comfortable with the tomatoes, so also you can't be comfortable when you refused to forgive your neighbor. Your beautiful heart starts smelling till it rotten just as these tomatoes. You keep carrying bitterness everywhere you go and you can't find peace because your heart has dirt in it." She then ended and told them to forgive those who offends them.
We all have been offended and because we refused to forgive, our heart is rotten just like the tomatoes. No human on earth is perfect and so we are bound to make mistakes. An adage in Yoruba is interpreted as this "when you have known your offence, you won't stay long on your knees trying to apologize".
This means, when you know you have hurt someone and you admit your mistakes, you apologize and immediately the person forgives you.
Some people are so bent on not forgiving other people. They will utter a word that "Over my dead body will I forgive you". These kind of people have locked up their mind and no amount of plea can make them change their mind. Do you imagine the bitterness that will cause them for life? Why do we put ourselves into such unbearable condition?
The Bible says we should love our neighbour as ourselves and even Jesus Christ taught us how to pray to our heavenly father who is in Heaven. A particular verse in the scripture then says "Forgive us our debts as we forgive others their trespasses". How do you expect God to forgive you when you haven't forgive those who offend you? No way!
UNFORGIVENESS is just like a rotten tomatoes because when you have much people you hate and thereby having bitterness in your heart, that clean heart of yours is already messed up. Why do you choose to allow stain in your heart because you didn't forgive that person who has come to you to apologize. Why not give them another chance?
Do you know the effects of not forgiving your neighbor? Here are some of them;
You will never have peace
You will always be sad all your life when you keep seeing that person
Jealousy will never allow you to rest and thereby leading you to do what will end up destroying you.
It will stop you from receiving blessing from God.
Your heart will be heavy always and you won't be free to do anything willingly.
God will never forgive you.
When you forgive, you have peace of mind. It doesn't take you anything to embrace those who hurt you and keep living a beautiful life. Don't allow hatred deprive you of a happy life. Don't allow hatred destroy your peace whatsoever. Make peace with people and let go of what they had done to you.
I hope this piece inspires you and make changes.
