DAILY TEXT, From today Monday June 5, 2023, This is how my heavenly Father will treat you if you do not forgive your brothers from your heart (Matt. 18:35).

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Monday June 5

This is how my heavenly Father will treat you if you do not forgive your brothers from your heart (Matt. 18:35).

Jesus told a parable about a king and one of his slaves. The king forgave the slave a debt that was so great that he could never pay it. Later, that same slave did not want to forgive another slave a much smaller debt. In the end, the king imprisoned the slave who had no mercy. What that slave did harmed not only him, but others as well. To begin with, he was cruel to his partner and "ordered him to be put in prison until he could pay the debt." And, besides, he hurt other slaves who saw what he had done. Jesus said: “When the other fellow slaves found out what had happened, they were very upset” (Matt. 18:30, 31). In a similar way, what we do also has an effect on others. If someone treats us badly and we refuse to forgive him, what can happen? For a start, we hurt him by denying him our forgiveness and our love, and perhaps even ignoring him. In addition, we make the brothers in the congregation feel uncomfortable by noticing that we are not at peace with that person. w21.06 22 pars. 11, 12.

What do you learn from what happened to a pioneer?

Forgiving our brothers benefits us and makes others feel better. That was the case with a forerunner we'll call Crystal. She remembers how badly a sister in the congregation made her feel: “Her words from her were sometimes as sharp as a knife. When we went out to preach, I didn't want to even be put in the same vehicle as her. I started to lose enthusiasm and joy.” It seemed to Crystal that she had good reason to be hurt. But she decided not to hold a grudge or indulge in self-pity. She was humble and she applied the Biblical advice from the October 15, 1999 Watchtower article “Let Us Forgive From the Heart.” So she forgave her sister. She says: “Now I understand that we are all striving to put on the new personality and that Jehovah generously forgives us every day. I feel that a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I have regained my joy”.

According to Matthew 18:21, 22, what problem does the apostle Peter seem to have, and what do you learn from Jesus' response? And what can help us if we find ourselves in the same situation?

We know that we must forgive because that is the right thing to do. But even so, it may be difficult for us to do so. It seems that this happened to the apostle Peter at times as well (read Matthew 18:21, 22). What can help us? First, meditate on all the times Jehovah has forgiven us (Matt. 18:32, 33). We do not deserve his forgiveness, but he generously gives it to us (Ps. 103:8-10). At the same time, "we also have an obligation to love one another." So forgiving is not optional; we owe it to our brothers (1 John 4:11). The second thing that can help us is to meditate on what happens when we forgive. We help the person who treated us badly, we contribute to the unity of the congregation, we protect our friendship with Jehovah, and we take a load off our shoulders (2 Cor. 2:7; Col. 3:14). The third help is to pray to Jehovah, who is the one who asks us to forgive others. Let us not allow Satan to disturb the peace we enjoy with our brothers (Eph. 4:26, 27). We need Jehovah's help to avoid falling into Satan's trap.

According to Colossians 3:13, what can we do if a brother or sister does something that upsets us?

And what if a brother does something that bothers us a lot? In that case, we must do everything we can to keep the peace. Let us pray to Jehovah and tell him everything we feel. Let us ask him to bless those who have offended us and to help us see his good qualities, the same ones that Jehovah has seen in him and values ​​(Luke 6:28). If we can't get over what he's done, let's think about the best way to talk to him. It is always better to assume that he did not hurt us on purpose (Matt. 5:23, 24; 1 Cor. 13:7). When we talk to him, let's give him the benefit of the doubt. But what if he doesn't want to make amends? The Bible says, "Keep putting up with one another." Let's not give up our brother for lost (read Colossians 3:13). More importantly, let us not hold a grudge against him, as this would damage our friendship with Jehovah. Let's not let anything trip us up.

What obligation does each of us have?

How grateful we are for the privilege of being “one flock” serving together with Jehovah “with one shepherd”! (John 10:16). The book Organized to Do Jehovah's Will, page 165, states: “Our obligation is to help preserve that unity.” And he adds: "We will always get along with our brothers if we learn to see them as Jehovah sees them." He sees all of us as his "little" of him and considers us very valuable. And this is how we should see our brothers. He sees and values ​​everything we do to help and care for them (Matt. 10:42).

What are we determined?

We love our fellow Christians. Therefore, we are "resolved not to put any hindrance or obstacle before a brother" (Rom. 14:13). We think that our brothers are superior to us and we want to forgive them from the heart. Let's not allow the actions of others to cause us to stumble. Rather, “let us keep looking for the things that foster peace and the things that build us up one another” (Rom. 14:19).

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