Have you ever found yourself singing “A Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song”?

If so, you have three options:

1. You can choose to get her/him back and even the score — retaliate! The problem with that choice is, like Gandhi said: “An eye for an eye, and soon the whole world will be blind.” If you get him back, he will probably get you back, and the cycle of revenge will go on and on.

2. You can choose to resent, hate or hold on to bad feelings toward her. Meanwhile the person who did you wrong is going about her merry way, unaware of the bitterness and misery that you are putting yourself through. Someone has said: “Resentment is like burning down your own house to get rid of a rat.” That doesn’t sound very effective.

3. Or you can choose to forgive and bless the person who did you wrong. That is the method that Jesus taught. He said: “Pray for those who persecute you.” Try it. It works wonders.

All you need to do is to ask God to bless the person who did you wrong. You don’t need to “feel like” doing it or even to want to do it. You simply obey and bless whether you feel like it or not. Just do it. Say something like this: “Dear God, I ask you to bless (put the person’s name here) and bless his/her family. Give him/her good health and meet all his/her financial needs. Fill his/her life with good things. Amen.”

If you will obey Jesus and begin to bless those who have done you wrong, you will begin to be freed from any bitterness, hatred and unforgiveness in your heart. This is not just a religious concept. It really works.

A few years ago I prayed an individual prayer of blessing for every person I could think of who has ever done me wrong. It was wonderful. A batch of bitterness left my heart that I had forgotten was there. It feels so good not to have bad feelings toward anybody.

Why not try this for yourself? Experiment and see what happens. What do you have to lose? Right now, before you move on, go ahead and say a prayer of blessing for someone who has done you wrong.

Check out my new book, Beyond Church — An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible — Ekklesia; available at Amazon.