Mark 11:25 "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."
The word, “ought” means something. No, it actually means “something.” The verse is saying that if we are asking God to forgive our sins and we are holding onto “something” in our hearts against another person, He will not listen. The ought in our heart puts noise cancelling headphones on God and He will not hear us. We must deal with the “ought” in our heart.
We have ought and we ought not.
I’m purposely not using the word “bitterness” because we often think of bitterness as something very deep, maybe from our past. What I want us to deal with today is getting bent out of shape, offended, and hurt by petty stuff, something that just gets your goat. Ought.
Is there someone that you would describe like, “Oh I love everyone, but I really don’t like her.”
What will destroy a home and church faster than any scary laws passed in our country, are Christian ladies that can’t get along.
They have ought against each other.
Ought doesn’t just affect you. It affects your prayer life and it affects your church and home.
James 3:9, 10 "Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be."
We cannot be right with God and wrong with people. We can’t refuse forgiveness to others and expect to receive blessings and forgiveness from God.
If you have ought in your heart, there should be one thing on your mind…get rid of it!
Two questions to consider:
Do you have ought?
Here’s a good test: Would you be ok serving in a ministry with any lady from your church? How about sharing hotel room at a ladies event?
Some would refuse serving God in a ministry because they can’t get along with another lady. That hurts the church.
I will admit that I struggle with ought sometimes. Once, instead of making things right with a lady in our church, I declared, “I have other friends and don’t need her!” What a stubborn old goat I can be sometimes!
We have a choice when we are hurt, offended, and annoyed by a person. We can hold on to ought or pass over a transgression. At times we may feel justified in our ought, but it’s not going to help us by holding on to it.
Are you causing ought in others?
I’ve been hurt by people who to this day don’t know they hurt me. It stands to reason that I may have also hurt people and didn’t realize it. We not only can have ought in our hearts but also cause it in others. Giving unasked for opinions or advice, excluding people, or flat-out meanness can cause others to hold onto ought.
Is there an apology you need to make? Does someone have ought against you and for good cause? Seek some counsel in how to go about this but get it right. It’s never too late to say you’re sorry.
There will be people in our life that hurt us and never offer an apology, but we can be the person to apologize when we hurt others. We can still let go of the ought in our hearts.
While hanging on the cross paying for the sins of the world, Jesus said, “Father forgive them.” He is ready to forgive us too.