John Bevere's book, The Bait of Satan, is now in its third printing, originally written in 1994 and revised in 2004.  Bevere has hit a target of deep need in the Christian community with a direct, and thoroughly Biblical look at the necessity of the practice of forgiveness.

Yesterday, in my devotions, I read 2 Corinthians 2:10-11:  "Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ. And we do this so that we may not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs."  Immediately, I remembered Bevere's book, which came to me at at time when I felt deeply wronged, and hardened against forgiveness.  Do we really know Satan's designs?  I fear I'm often in a position to be outwitted.

Bevere leads his readers through a process.  In a series of chapters on possible wrongs a person might suffer, and surely he could not cover them all, he allows the reader to feel the pain and the anger of being wronged.  But he begins to gently lead the reader toward the practice of forgiveness.  Bevere's basic premise is that when we fail to forgive, we hold a grudge in our heart that lends toward a sense of personal entitlement.  I am one who has been wronged, so I deserve...And into that gaping whole, Satan moves in.  Our sense of entitlement and just desserts justifies our basest vices.  Ouch.

The Biblical recourse to freedom from this trap is forgiveness.  Forgiveness practiced not entirely for the benefit of the unjust offender, but forgiveness for the benefit of the forgiver--and to the glory of God. 

When I was given Bevere's book, I was in a hard position.  I felt that there was someone who simply would not deal justly with me, who was holding me in uncomfortable and twisted oppression.  The book helped me found both my sense of injustice, and the necessity of forgiveness, in the Word of God in Scripture.  While taking a walk to relieve stress, I began to pray a long and lingering walking prayer.  I even began to pray for this man.  I was struck with the conviction that in the time I spent with him I would either be a blessing or a curse in his life--and I determined to be a blessing.  Freedom.

Walking around with a grudge is like wearing a chain.  It makes the world itself smaller, and supresses the freedom of the soul.  Bitterness, Bevere notes, is nothing but the unrequited desire for revenge.  It must all be given over.  And it can be in the Easter light, in the light of the Passion of Christ.

"You may have done nothing to provoke the wrong you incurred at the hand of another.  But if you contrast what was done to you with what you've been forgiven of, there is no comparison.  It would not even put a dent in the debt you owe!  If you feel cheated, you have lost your concept of the mercy extended you." (p. 136)

The Bait of Satan is really a rather simple book.  The reader should beware of a few forays into pop psychology and a few moments of entitlement theology (if you do this, God will unlock His blessing); but, to its benefit, many pages of the book are devoted to collecting passages of Scripture and exploring the stories of forgiveness in God's word with ready application.  The simple, yet profound, Biblical ideas of forgiveness found in this book will set the hearts of thousands free in Christ.