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Genesis 37-50 – The Temptations of Dysfunctional Families #10
Tenth, being transgressed against we can be tempted to lie to ourselves that it never happened. We conclude along with Proverbs 19.11 that it is our prerogative and is virtuous to overlook an offense. But that means admitting it happened. For some acts we just say, “It’s OK” when it’s not.
“The first step in developing forgiveness, Lew wrote, is to acknowledge that you were hurt unfairly, unjustly. Some hurts are minor and simply call for a sense of humor….. Others hurts are personal, unjust and deep. They are likely to fester and cause us ongoing problems as well as complicate our relationships (‘You did not serve the hurt. It went deep enough to lodge itself in your memory. And it keep on hurting you now’)” (Stassen, pp.158-159)
Illustrating from a physical image, how could someone heal a broken leg just because they ignored it got broken? Joseph knew what his brothers did to him and even called it evil (Gen 50.20).
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