James 3:14-15 – But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
Matthew 18:23-28 – Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, “Pay what you owe.”
Bitterness, or unforgiveness, is a vehicle by which demonic forces travel into your life and relationships.
Hell is the place of unforgiveness; when you do not forgive, you are pulling hell up into your life. Heaven is the place of forgiveness; when you forgive, you are inviting heaven down into your life.
The parable of the unforgiving servant is a picture of the gospel of forgiveness. This is how Jesus treats us.
But the man forgiven of a great debt confronts another man who owes him a much smaller debt. Rather than forgiving the man in the same way he had been forgiven, Jesus says he seized the man and “began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him. The forgiven man refused and put him in prison.
The image of the jailer in Jesus’ teaching is Satan and the demonic realm. Satan and his demons condemn you, haunt you, and torment you. They encourage you to respond to your hurt by hurting others and to your torment by tormenting others. God creates forgiveness, and Satan counterfeits it with bitterness.
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