The other day, I pulled out some stain remover to clean a little spot on our carpet.
I noticed that on the bottle the directions read, "Get to the spot as quickly as possible, hopefully while it's still wet." Why? Because the longer it stays there, the more difficult it is to remove. Do you know that it's the same way with us? When anger, bitterness or offense comes, it's like a stain on your mind. If you allow it to set hour after hour, day after day, it's going to get harder and harder to remove. It's so much easier to forgive right when the incident happens. And it doesn't matter what the other person does, you can choose to forgive and give your mind a clean slate.
In Ephesians six, the Bible talks about how we should put on the armor of God. One of the most important pieces is the shoes of peace. In the same way that shoes protect our feet, peace protects our spiritual walk. But I've found that too many people are going around spiritually barefooted. They're always upset and bent out of shape about something—they get offended at the neighbor because they weren't invited to play in little league, offended at the department store because they wouldn't take something back, offended at their spouse because he left in such a hurry. What's the problem? They're not putting on their shoes of peace.
Today, make the decision that no matter what comes against you, you're not going to get upset. You're not going to get offended. You're going to stay in peace. Have the attitude, "If somebody ignores me, that's alright. They're probably just having a bad day. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and move on. Somebody is rude to me? No big deal. I'm an eagle; I can rise above it." Remember, God is your vindicator, and when you remove offense quickly so you can walk in peace, you are allowing Him to fight your battles and lead you into victory all the days of your life!
