Bevere teaches that, as Christians, we never have a right to hold on to that Offense. This sounds radical, but I believe that it is true. I'm not saying we can never be angry, or that we can't take some time to recover from our initial hurt before coming to a place of Forgiveness. Most importantly, I am not saying that we can forgive our debtors simply by deciding to do it; only the Holy Spirit, along with much prayer on our part, can accomplish Forgiveness in our hearts. But on the other hand, if we take that Offense into our heart and keep it there, if we allow a root of bitterness to take hold within us, then we are the ones who have fallen for the "bait of Satan." Even if we were the ones wronged in the first place, we become the ones that fall into sin.
Many people have the mistaken idea that Forgiveness is the same as excusing or condoning the wrong thing that was done. This past week, the Pope was in Croatia, preaching on the need for Forgiveness after the brutal Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. This story quotes a mother whose sons were killed in the war, who responded, "If I forgive them, I would have to forget my sons. I can't do this." But Forgiveness is not some massive denial of reality ("the wrong thing you did to me never really happened"), nor is it condoning an evil act. When I was a kid, my parents taught me never to say "that's okay" in response to an apology; instead, one says, "I forgive you." The difference is important. Godly Forgiveness recognizes that the wrong occurred, and that it was wrong, but then it releases us from the burden of holding on to that Offense.
Bevere goes on to discuss many specific ways that we can feel betrayed and fall into Offense, and gives sensitive and practical advice on how to deal with each of these situations in the spirit of Forgiveness. He also discusses several people in the Bible who were betrayed (Joseph, David, Jesus), and how they dealt with the emotional pain and the temptation to become bitter. There were only a couple points in the book where I disagreed with Bevere's theology, and the embedded promotion of his speaking career was occasionally irksome. However, the foundational teachings of The Bait of Satan are not only sound, I would go so far as to say that they are life-changing. For Laura and I, this book helped us to mend several damaged relationships, and to guard our hearts so as to prevent any new relational damage. No doubt, it is a very hard thing to give up our "right" to hold onto an Offense, but if we obey God and release those hurts, we will find that it is true liberation.
Posted by Matt on 6/13/2003 04:06:00 AM 
