WEBVTT

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Hi, Dave here. Just a couple things about this

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podcast. We were in 1 Corinthians 14, and we

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did three of those talks this week on 1 Corinthians

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14. And the fourth talk was actually posted by

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mistake by me a little early. It was posted on

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January 9th. We broadcast these in 1981. They

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were done in sequence. And that is the fourth

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one that was done in 1981. And there's a link

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to that in the description below. There's also

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a link to a forgiveness playlist of Catherine

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Coleman teaching on forgiveness on YouTube below.

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There's a link to that. And just a little heads

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up. Give this talk some time because... About

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two -thirds of the way through the talk, she

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gives some good hints on being overly sensitive

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and maybe a root cause of being overly sensitive.

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So God bless you and have a good day. Enjoy.

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Bye. I have received a letter that I wish to

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acknowledge publicly. It is very well written.

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I shall not read the letter in its entirety.

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A gentleman has written it. Dear Miss Cooman,

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just listened to your radio program and enjoyed

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your service last Sunday. I answered the altar

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call and wept and wept. I heard you on the radio

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the other day talk on love. I do not know what

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love really is. And I admit, I do not love everybody.

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It's easy to like somebody like you, Catherine

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Kuhlman. But everybody isn't like Catherine Kuhlman.

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And then the writer of this letter goes on to

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tell his real problem. And the... for his dislike

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and almost hatred that he's been holding in his

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heart, lo, these many years. As I said, his letter

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is lengthy and I can't read it all. But this

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Catholic gentleman attended a monastery and all

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these years he has held a resentment. against

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a priest in that monastery. And it has eaten

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like an ugly cancer within me. And he seems to

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find no solution whatsoever to get rid of this

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resentment, this hatred in his heart. This is

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not the only person who perhaps for years has

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carried resentment, hatred in your heart for

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some individual. I shall answer this man's letter,

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but please will you just listen. You too may

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be included in the answer. You know, the best

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practice... in the whole world is to just ignore

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your enemies. And it's just like that. Someone

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said that whenever a man did him an injury, he'd

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write that man's name down on a strip of paper

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and put it inside a drawer of his desk. A drawer

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that he never used much. And then, once every

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few years, he said he would open the drawer,

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look at the names that he had placed there, And

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he said, you know, it was surprising how many

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of those men had died, had disappeared, or had

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ruined themselves in trying to hurt others. And

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it's just like that. Now, the instinct for revenge

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is strong in all of us. And when I say all of

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us, I mean included. Because remember, I'm a

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part of humanity too. Not one of us is faultless.

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Not one of us is perfect. And there's something

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about it. The instinct for revenge is strong

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in every bastard one of us, especially when we're

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still smarting from some injuries. But do you

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want to know what the Bible says? this is great

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and never forget it. Sometimes I have to quote

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this scripture every day of my life and sometimes

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more than once a day. Here it is. Vengeance is

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mine, saith the Lord. In other words, just ignore

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that hurt. Just... ignore that something that

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you feel has been an injustice so far you are

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concerned. Just ignore that enemy. Place that

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one in the hands of God. Vengeance is mine, saith

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the Lord. And believe me, this is not only good.

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Sound living, it's also good psychology. You

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know, vengeance is best left to the Lord. When

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human beings invoke it, they become very much

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like the thing they hate. The Hatfields may have

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been at first treated unjustly by the McCoys,

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but in the end, the two clans were... undistinguishable

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one from the other. You couldn't tell the Hatfields

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from the McCoys because the Hatfields had stooped

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to the level of the McCoys and... Oh, it's a

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good thing to rise above that injustice and say

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to yourself, I'll be bigger than that one who

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has done me an injustice. And the one who can

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forget and forgive is the bigger of the two.

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That's right. When you try to bring revenge on

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the one who did you an injustice, then you become

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just as small as that one who did you the injustice.

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It's like that. You can't tell one from the other.

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And it's just like that. You know, there are

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very few of us who are strong enough to turn

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the other cheek. But most of us can learn simply

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to turn our backs and just walk away and act

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like it never happened. Vicious and deceitful

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people punish themselves, their families, and

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their friends. There's no need for us to act

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as agents of the Lord. Nor can most of us love

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our enemies. Now that's a pretty hard thing to

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do. When it comes right down to it. Love your

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enemies. And few of us can do it. I think it's

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one of the hardest things in the world to do.

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I mean that. If I was given some big job to do

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that I could do with my hands, some labor, long

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hours in service and work, that's one thing.

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I can easily do that. But when it comes right

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down to loving our enemies, believe me, that's

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a pretty hard thing to do. But all of us can

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just turn our back on our enemies and just forget

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that injustice that was done to us. There is

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a way of erasing the thing from your mind. Absolutely,

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there is a way. of doing that very thing. And

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by doing that thing, you're going to save yourself

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a lot of wear and tear on your own physical condition.

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The man who attacks you wants to be attacked

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in turn because this, in a way, kind of justifies

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his attack and makes him feel better. He feels

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justified then for having done what he did to

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you when you turn around and try to get revenge

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and you attack him. He feels absolutely justified

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then in what he did. But psychologically, refusing

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to return an injury may inflict even deeper pain

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than striking back at him. Just ignore it. Just

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act like it never happened. Now, when I word

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it like that, it sounds sort of childish. But

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I don't know how better to explain it or word

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it. Just act like it never happened and go right

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on living. Mm -hmm. And it's just like that.

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You know. When it comes to this thing of the

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basis of resentments and hatreds, while the central

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and fundamental motive for forgiving injuries

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against us is that God forgives us and we therefore

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copy God as his children, nevertheless, there

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are minor motives and techniques. which we can

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use in dealing with resentments and hatreds.

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Always remember that at the basis of most resentments

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is a touchy, unsurrendered self. It is really

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a lack of self -confidence on your part. build

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the resentment shows that there's a self that

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is oversensitive. A self that is unsurrendered

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to the will of God. When surrendered to the will

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of God, we throw off resentments as a healthy

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skin throws off disease germs. Unless there's

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inner disease or an abrasion of the skin. The

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disease germs can get no foothold. And so it

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is when resentments have gained a footing. It

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shows that there's a raw, sensitive self underneath

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that has become a culture soil for the rutting

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and growth of resentments. There is a diseased

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self -centeredness that is in that one. Perhaps

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unnoticed by the individual. But is there a touchy

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self -centeredness? A weakness? An oversensitive

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person. One who is not sure of himself. Then

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immediately, any little thing will upset that

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one. And they fight back in defense. You know.

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Always remember. that when you go around with

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a chip on your shoulder, the chip is probably

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from the block above. I have something that I

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have kept it so long. It was yellow with age

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before I received it. It's a faded clipping that

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I've had a long time time. It was pasted on a

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cue card, probably the theme of some speech.

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And I see by the date that it was used more than

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40 years ago. I want to give it to you. It's

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a masterpiece. When you get to know a fellow,

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know his joys, know his cares, when you've come

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to understand him and the burden that he bears,

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and when you've learned the fight that he's making

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and the troubles in his way, then you'll find

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that he's a different person, different than

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you thought him yesterday. You find that his

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faults are trivial. And there's not so much to

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blame in the fellow that you jeered at when you

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only knew his name. You're quick to see the blemish

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in the distant neighbor's style. And you can

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point to all his errors and may even sneer at

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him the while. And your prejudices fatten and

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your hates more violent grow as you talk about

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the failures of the man you do not really know.

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But when drawn a little closer and your hands

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and shoulders touch, you find the traits you

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hated really don't amount to so much. When you

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get to know a fella, know his every mood and

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whim, you begin to find the texture of the splendid

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side of him. You begin to understand him, and

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you cease to scoff and sneer. Always prejudices

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disappear. You begin to find his virtues and

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his faults. You cease to tell. And you seldom

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hate a fellow when you get to know him very well.

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When next you start in sneering and phrases start

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to blame, know more about him. The one you censor.

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In his business and his name. And it's likely

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that acquaintance would your prejudice dispel.

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And you'd really come to like him if you knew

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him very well. For when you get to know a fella.

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And you understand his ways. Then his faults

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won't really matter. For you'll find a lot. And.

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awful lot to praise. But more than that, Jesus

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himself said, For if ye forgive men their trespasses,

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your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But

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if ye forgive not, their trespasses, neither

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will your father forgive your trespasses. You

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and I can afford to forgive.