In this piece we will explore one key point, forgiveness, from chapter five of David Kupelian’s book, How Evil Works. Please find a link below where you can purchase the book from Amazon, should you desire to do so. Here are some of the highlights regarding the power of forgiveness as found within this chapter.
Healing from many of life’s issues can be found through forgiveness, true and complete forgiveness. As the author notes in this chapter, the Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus gave us as a blueprint for approaching God just might provide insight for how to heal what we in our society have labeled “mental Illness.” That might sound crazy to you, but is it really?
Below I have provided the Lord’s Prayer from the Book of Matthew just as Jesus spoke it in bold font. In the (parentheses beside each section in regular italic font I have expounded with life application for each principle found within the prayer.)
Matthew 6:9–13 (NKJV) Jesus speaking
9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name. (Revere and submit to God.)
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven. (Want God’s Will.)
11 Give us this day our daily bread. (Trust God.)
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors. (Give and receive forgiveness.)
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one. (Seek to be away from, and protected from, sin.)
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Trust God for it all and seek to glorify Him.)
When it comes to dealing with God and man it is in forgiving others, requesting forgiveness for ourselves, and receiving forgiveness or the lack thereof that we live or die spiritually. In forgiveness, manifest in all three forms, or the lack thereof we either find true happiness and innocence or conflict and separation from God and man.
I have heard it said, though I do not know by whom, that forgiveness means giving up all hope that the past would have been different. This statement is so true because in order to forgive we first must stop clinging to, ‘I wish this had not happened.’ It has happened and there is nothing that can be changed about that truth, however, you can change how you continue to react to what has happen. By forgiving you let go of the idea of there being a different yesterday, and you free yourself to live your tomorrow fully.
The author rightly states, forgiveness is about finding the grace to give up anger and resentment over an injustice. Forgiveness, the willingness to give up this anger and resentment, can be very healing. It is additionally true, that un-forgiveness, clinging to hostility and rage, feeds our pride, because after all we certainly deserved better. Only in releasing pride and embracing humility can a person find the courage to truly forgive.
True healing, God healing from mental illness or mental disorders is possible. There are individuals who have been diagnosed with what we call “bipolar disorder,” “depression,” “anxiety disorders,” “schizophrenia,” and other serious conditions that have mysteriously gotten better as Kupelian states. They discovered how to listen to the godly part of themselves aka the right side and stop listening to the ungodly forces at work around and in them aka the wrong side. Godliness grows and evil diminishes. The Light of God comes in, shines on their conflicts, and untangles their inner messes – primarily through various aspects of forgiveness. Once they give up their resentments and rage, no longer getting upset all the time, they simply get better as the author puts it. Having your mood strings pulled chemically through the use of psychiatric drugs will not accomplish this feat.
Our society seems to have forgotten the concepts of personal choice and personal responsibility. A blindness dominates our age which conceals a truth that even children know and understand naturally. We all have a “good side” (conscience) and we all have a “bad side” (sin nature). It is imperative that we are careful which side we heed and which side we feed. Listening to our wrong side will result in terrible consequences.
There is a famous story of an old Cherokee chief talking to his grandson. The chief said:
“A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible battle – between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, pride, anger, envy, lust, greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment, lies, and cruelty. The other wolf stands for honesty, kindness, hope, sharing, sincerity, humility, friendship, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too,” he added. The grandson reflected on these words for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?” The old chief simply relied, “The one you feed.”
Forgiveness feed the good wolf, forgiveness feeds the spirit, forgiveness feeds healing, forgiveness feeds wholeness, and forgiveness feeds godly character.
In the next posting we will examine chapter six of David Kupelian’s book, How Evil Works. This chapter will confront our false gods.
Updated 10-2-2016
How Evil Works
Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms our country entirely. Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms someone you know or even you. Knowledge is power and without it we will perish. We need to be extremely knowledgeable when it comes to evil.
Hosea 4:6 (NKJV)
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
The Marketing of Evil
Evil is sold in our society just as anything else might be sold, through marketing. Satan has marketed his product through those willing and those ignorant to his schemes. Through his craftiness he has turned the minds of even Believers to think that tolerance of his evil is some form of love. In so doing he has transformed to a large degree the once Devout Church and transformed our society to an enormous degree. He has not accomplished this without his workers however, the willing, the sold out for their own gain, and the ignorant masses following blindly behind the majority.
Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:
This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
God's Truth in Love 