Are you being outwitted?

As you read this passage from 2 Corinthians, see it if reminds you of any situation you’ve ever been a part of:

 If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. 7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.9 Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

As we journey though life we all have situations where we are hurt and disappointed by someone.  Groups of people — congregations, employees in an organization, members of a family — are often hurt by the actions of a person.   This has been happening for literally thousands of years as we see here.  In the church at Corinth, someone screwed up and hurt people…. and he paid.   Lots of people inflicted punishment on him.   

Paul says, “Enough is enough!  It’s now time to reaffirm your love and forgive him.  

The most significant portion of this scripture however, is the “Why” behind it.   Why did Paul tell the people at the church in Corinth to offer grace and forgiveness?  So that Satan wouldn’t outwit them.   Paul points out that the scheme of the enemy is to cause strife among God’s people and to keep stirring it up for a long time.

If you are in a situation where someone has screwed up and everyone wants to continue to punish them, recognize this dynamic for what it is — a group of people being outwitted by the enemy.  Forgive, offer grace, move on — because that is what allows us to live in victory.