6. In contrast with Zechariah 7:10, what does Micah 7:18 suggest that we do?

⁶ Jehovah had Zechariah mention His desire that we “scheme out nothing bad against one another in [our] hearts.” (Zechariah 7:9, 10; 8:17) This advice is pertinent when we feel that a brother has hurt us or wronged someone in our family. In such cases, it is easy to ‘scheme out bad in our hearts’ and then to reflect that in our deeds. On the other hand, God wants us to imitate his positive example. Recall that Micah wrote that Jehovah is “pardoning error and passing over transgression.”a (Micah 7:18) How can we apply that in practical ways?

7. Why might we choose simply to forget an offense?

⁷ We may feel hurt over what was done to us or to our relative, but really, how serious is it? The Bible outlines steps for settling differences, even a sin against a brother. Still, it is often best just to overlook the error or the offense, to ‘pass over transgression.’ Ask yourself: ‘Might this be one of the 77 times that I should forgive him? Why not simply forget it?’ (Matthew 18:15-17, 21, 22) Even if the offense seems significant now, will it be so a thousand years from now? Draw a basic lesson from the comment at Ecclesiastes 5:20 about a worker’s enjoying food and drink: “Not often will he remember the days of his life, because the true God is preoccupying him with the rejoicing of his heart.” As that man happily focuses on his current pleasure, he tends to forget the problems of his daily life. Can we imitate that attitude? If we focus on the joys of our Christian brotherhood, we may be able to forget issues that are not lastingly important, ones that we will not recall in the new world. That is quite different from rejoicing over another’s difficulty or remembering offenses.