The New Testament uses a vivid word for offense. It is the Greek word skandalon, which referred to the stick or trigger in a trap that held the bait. When an animal touched the bait, the stick moved, and the trap snapped shut. Offense works the same way in the spiritual world. Something happens — a word, an action, a neglect — and we take the bait. We grab hold of the offense, and suddenly we are caught.

Paul used this language when writing to the Corinthians. He urged them to forgive and comfort the one who had sinned, "lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow" 2 Corinthians 2:7. Then he added the reason: "To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices" 2 Corinthians 2:10-11. Unforgiveness gives Satan an advantage. It is one of his devices.

The bait of Satan is offense. He knows that every human being will be hurt, slighted, misunderstood, or wronged. His strategy is to keep you holding onto the hurt until it becomes something far worse.

Offense begins with a real or perceived wrong. Someone spoke harshly. Someone failed to keep a promise. Someone betrayed a confidence. Someone received recognition you deserved. The event is the bait. Your reaction determines whether the trap closes.

The first response is usually anger or hurt. That response is not sin by itself. Jesus was grieved at the hardness of men's hearts Mark 3:5. The problem comes when you hold the offense. You rehearse it. You tell others about it. You build a case. You wait for the offender to come crawling back. In doing so, you swallow the bait.

Satan whispers three lies to keep the offense alive. First, "You have a right to be angry." Second, "If you forgive, you are letting them off the hook." Third, "They do not deserve your forgiveness." All three are bait. Forgiveness is not about the offender's worthiness. It is about your freedom.

If offense is not released, it becomes bitterness. The writer of Hebrews warns, "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled" Hebrews 12:15. Bitterness is not a surface weed. It is a root. It grows underground, out of sight, and sends up shoots in unexpected places.

Bitterness defiles many. A bitter person pollutes his family, his church, his workplace, and his friendships. The bitterness spreads through complaints, sarcasm, coldness, and gossip. People who were not part of the original offense begin to carry the poison.

Bitterness also hardens the heart. Ephesians 4:31-32 commands, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Bitterness is not a private emotion. It is sin that must be put away.

Unforgiveness is expensive. It costs you peace, sleep, health, relationships, and spiritual authority. Jesus told a parable about a servant who owed his king ten thousand talents and was forgiven, but who refused to forgive a fellow servant who owed him a hundred pence. When the king heard this, he delivered the unforgiving servant to the tormentors Matthew 18:23-35. Jesus concluded, "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses" Matthew 18:35.

The tormentors in that parable are real. Unforgiving people are tormented by their own thoughts. They replay conversations. They plan speeches they will never deliver. They punish themselves by refusing to let go. Forgiveness is the door out of the prison.

Unforgiveness also gives Satan a foothold. Paul told the Ephesians, "Neither give place to the devil" Ephesians 4:27. The word "place" means a foothold or a beachhead. Holding offense is like handing the enemy a base of operations in your soul. From that base he can launch accusations, temptations, and deceptions.