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The first step in forgiveness is to recognize your resentment against an enemy. You must understand who the enemy is and what he has done to hurt you. Then you must consciously say, “I forgive that person for the following wrongs against me.” Then repent of your feelings against your enemy and ask God to forgive you, even as “we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4).

After that, begin to pray actively for your enemy’s good. Jesus told us to pray for our enemies and that doing this will help to fill us with love for them.

When you pray for your enemies, asking God to meet their needs and manifest Himself to them, you are overcoming evil with good. Instead of fighting negative thoughts in your mind, you are filling your mind with positive thoughts. You are now on the side of your enemy; you have a spiritual stake in his well-being. If God answers your prayer, which you want Him to do, the person prayed for will be blessed, and you will learn about redemption–the ultimate form of forgiveness.

Keep in mind that if you ask God to bless somebody, God will bring that person to a condition where blessing is possible. God will not bless an evildoer until he or she repents of sin, provides restitution where necessary, and gets right with God. So if you ask God to bless someone who has wronged you, the result may well be a repentant sinner and a new brother or sister in the Lord!

An employee owes his employers the duty of behaving as if he were working for Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31). It also tells us that we are not to seek to please men but to serve the Lord Jesus Christ (see Galatians 1:10, I Thessalonians 2:4). Wherever you work–in an office, as a union member, in a factory, as a salesman, or in any other place–you are to act as if you are working for Jesus (see I Corinthians 10:31).

Remember that our reward will come from Him. Whatever the nature of the person you are working for, you should love that person, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart.

An employer, on the other hand, is to be gentle and tender with his employees, especially if the employees are Christians. Such employees are to be treated as brothers in the Lord. The book of Philemon consists of a letter that Paul wrote about a runaway slave. Paul told Philemon that his runaway slave had become a Christian. Because of this, Onesimus was no longer just a slave, but was now a brother in Christ and should be treated as such. Modern employers must see their employees as precious creatures made in the image of God. They are not just numbers, or nameless faces on an assembly line. They are people for whom Christ died!

Together, employers and employees should respect each other, work in harmony, and remember the basic commandment of Jesus: “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12). This golden rule should underlie all labor relationships. If you would not want to be put in a dust-filled room with poor light and no toilet facilities, and allowed only a fifteen-minute break for lunch, do not put your employees under those conditions.

Conversely, if you, as an employee, do not appreciate shoddy workmanship, constant bickering, and lack of respect for your personal property, remember that your employer has the same dislikes.

In short, employers and employees should acknowledge the claim of God on both, the God-given dignity of both, and the mutual consideration that each would want if roles were reversed.

Coveting is an inordinate desire to have something that someone else has, whether it is a car, house, employee, wife, husband, or anything else. Coveting is a condition of the heart–an inner condition which ultimately leads to an outer offense. If someone covets something that someone else has, it can lead to lying, to bearing false witness, to committing murder, to stealing, or to any number of other crimes, even war between nations.

There are a finite number of houses, lands, automobiles, wives, and husbands in this world, so we are not permitted to desire what already belongs to someone else. Coveting is followed ultimately by a clash of wills, painful unhappiness, or open conflict. But God Himself is infinite, and His supply for His people is infinite. We need not covet what belongs to another. Instead, we can ask God to supply, peaceably and freely, the desires of our hearts.

We are permitted, however, to covet God Himself, to long for Him, because there is enough of Him for everyone. God is not diminished if one person “takes” a great share of Him. An equally great share is available for you and for everyone else in the world. So you can let all your desire for fulfillment be devoted toward desiring God. As Jesus put it, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

We must also guard against wanting to be another person. For instance, Billy Graham is a great man. But I am not Billy Graham and I cannot be. God did not choose me to do what Billy Graham does, nor did He choose Billy Graham to do what I do. I can do things he cannot do, and he can do things I cannot do. But if I desire to be him, and he wants to be me, then we both have serious trouble.

Some people are successful entertainers, some are businessmen, some are politicians, some are athletes, some are craftsmen. God gives talents, abilities, and situations that are suitable for each individual. We need to seek His perfect will for each one of us, not the career achievement of another.

To attempt to be someone else can set a person upon a false course which can lead to heartbreak, frustration, and even destruction.

People usually think of virtue or vice in relation to sexual behavior, alcohol, money, or food. But when we die, gluttony, lust, greed, and other fleshly sins will die with those of us who are Christians. We will not carry these things into heaven.

The things we will take into heaven have to do with the values of the human spirit. The apostle Paul wrote, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (I Corinthians 13:13). The love we have for each other and for God will survive the grave. The hope we have in God will survive the grave. The faith we have in God will survive the grave. These three inner qualities of the spirit of man will go into heaven.

On the other hand, people will take spiritual characteristics to hell with them too–things like pride, rebellion, envy, pettiness, and self-seeking. Hell goes on forever, so what starts out at forty or fifty years of age as a manageable tendency could be increased and magnified at the age of one million to an absolutely hideous characteristic. Imagine what pride, selfishness, cruelty, envy, or anger would be like if they were allowed to multiply for one million years!

This is why heaven must be reserved for those whose spiritual tendencies have been reborn and why rebellious sinners cannot be allowed to enter the place that God has prepared for those who serve Him.

There are three parts to the great commandment. The first part is: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.” The real you, the deepest part of your being, should love God. The next part of the commandment is, “with all your soul, with all your mind.” This includes your ego–the mental processes that focus toward mankind, yet are in touch with your spirit. And then, the third part is to love God “with all your strength.” That has to do with your body. Your physical being must reflect your love of God too (Mark 12:30).

In summary, a person must dedicate the totality of his being to a self-giving love for God. Every aspect of his nature must focus on loving God. To illustrate, a person would break the great commandment if his spirit was partially centered on making money to the exclusion of God; or his mind was centered on high fashion, pride, or revenue; or his body was centered on gluttony, alcohol, or nicotine. God demands every bit of all of us!

This is why no human being can satisfy the demands of God merely by going to church or observing external religious ceremonies. No one can say, “I am a good person.” In fact, keeping God’s commandments is impossible unless you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ fulfilled the great commandment perfectly, and He is the only human being ever to do so. Through His blood and His Spirit within us, we can live in a way that pleases God. On our own it is impossible.