Forgiveness is a topic that is relevant to every person who has ever lived. We all need forgiveness, and we all need to give forgiveness. However, before we can tackle what forgiveness is, we need to address some faulty thinking when it comes to forgiveness. There are several things that forgiveness is not. It is not having a good feeling towards the person who wronged you. If you are waiting to feel good towards the person who hurt you, you are going to wait a long time. Forgiveness is not simply a feeling. Forgiveness is also not ignoring the offense or forgetting that it ever happened. You cannot pretend something didn’t happen. Forgiveness does not mean restoring full trust to that person again or having the exact same relationship. …show more content…
God is perfect, and cannot forget anything, but forgetting is a passive human trait. Choosing not to remember is active, and that is choosing not to hold sin against another by not bringing it up again, or shaming another person with it, or using it against a person in any way. Forgiveness brings consequences. The offense committed may mean that we cannot trust that person again, and that is not wrong. It would be wrong, however, to refuse to ever trust that person by not accepting any efforts to establish trust. There can also be other serious consequences of sin, and those consequences do not make you unforgiving. “There is no promise in Scripture that God’s forgiveness will eradicate all the consequences of sin.” Forgiveness means resisting thoughts of revenge. Forgiveness means wishing the other person well and having sympathy for them. It means praying for them. Forgiveness seeks reconciliation and always being willing to serve them (Exodus 23:4).
Choosing not to forgive can have serious consequences. Bitterness begins to rule the life of an unforgiving person. He finds himself filled with anger and mistrust of other people. He only speaks to those who sympathize with his hurt and do not challenge him. The hurt he has experienced becomes the center of his life and his motivation for everything he does. The incident controls him. “Facts are skewed, information is twisted, and sometimes reality is ignored in order to justify
Forgiveness is what holds and brings relationships together. If you stay angry for long, your heart stubbornly hardens. But if you choose to forgive, you will be filled with the grace of God. We are all sinners and should never carry a
Forgiveness has a different context depending on where the person is from or what he believes. Religion places a great emphasis on the view of forgiveness.
Forgiveness helps us feel light and helps us get rid of hard feelings that occupy our mind and heart and eat away our peace of mind. Forgiveness is a way to self-fulfillment. People who can readily forgive others are much more responsible and satisfied inside than those who keep grudges against others and develop feelings of enmity. Those who forgive help create positive energy on this planet. In the article “Forgiveness Towards Others” by Charu B shae states “Our grudges will only affect the relationship with the person and not hurt the other person in any way.”
Forgiveness is not just practiced by saints and not only benefits its recipients but have strong connection with person’s physical, mental and spiritual health. It plays a great role in the health of families, communities and nations. Forgiveness provides common ground for love, acceptance, harmony and true happiness Most spiritual and religious leaders of the world will agree that forgiveness of oneself and others is one way to clear the mind, heart and soul and may result in a feeling of increased peace and happiness.
It is also vital to look at Wilson’s view on the practice of forgiveness and how if an individual decides to ignore it, it can place a road block in their process of change. She believes that God speaks about forgiveness for the following reasons:” (1) we are all sinners with whom to relate so we’ll need to become skillful forgivers (2) God makes forgiveness a centerpiece of our healing process because living in un-forgiveness is so much worse (Wilson, 2001).
Life has ups and downs, it may stab you in the back, but it’s a choice to forgive and forget about it. Forgiveness is something that helps people move on. For every person, the word forgiveness has a different meaning, for me it means leaving behind actions from my past. Personally, I like to think that forgiveness is a way to start over whether in a friendship or in life. If the opportunity presented itself to me to explain the word, forgiveness, to someone I would simply reply that it is the idea of setting yourself free from all the hate one has been holding.
Forgiveness is very important throughout life. If people don't forgive, they are going to be stuck in the past always remembering about the mistake that person did. Forgiving someone can make yourself feel better because you know you forgave that person and there's no negativity between you and that person.
The bible teaches Christians to forgive in order to receive forgiveness. People often retaliate for wrongs suffered by not forgiving. However, researchers are discovering that not forgiveness can lead to health problems.
Forgiveness is letting go; whether it be letting go of small things or big things, it helps people move on. Each person has their own definition of what forgiveness truly means. Its logical for people to be forgiven because no matter what they do, they're human; humans make mistakes. It can be hard not to forgive, but it's also necessary to put away your differences and reunite with former enemies. It makes sense to ask for forgiveness.
Also, understanding is the key to forgive someone regrets his immoral acts against you. The story of Albert Speer reveals the sorrow and compassion of one of the culprit find himself face to face with a victim. Mr. Albert was supporting the Nazis against Jews during the Holocaust. He acknowledged his responsibility and guilt for the mass crime. With the guilty verdict, he imprisoned for twenty years for his legal inhuman acts. When Simon Wiesenthal met him, Albert considered his eyes to find compassion and humanity inside (The Sunflower 246). Thus, I believe that when victim lets down the revenge, he also removes most of the barriers for a substantial correction. In the meantime, if you forgive, you can stop the stupidity of haters and prove that you are much stronger. Besides the world has a lot of evidence proclaiming that the desire for revenge disappears even after a long time of reciprocal violence, but only the people who forgive are the last standing. Overall, to forgive is to build bridges between victims and culprits for a healthy
Forgiveness to me is the willingness to start over and overcome the wrongdoing. In the world today there are two types of forgiveness. There is true forgiveness that only comes from God. It is only given to the people that want it and ask for it for all the wrongdoings that we have committed against Him. There is also the forgiveness we give out to other people.
The article "Self-forgiveness: The forgotten stepchild of forgiveness research" is a qualitative rather than a quantitative study of the phenomenon of self-forgiveness. The authors distinguish self-forgiveness versus forgiveness of an 'other' in an outwardly-directed fashion. They state that self-forgiveness has been under-studied in the existing literature. The beginning of the article is devoted to a literature review of existing writings upon the subject, with using a working definition of self forgiveness "as a set of motivational changes whereby one becomes decreasingly motivated to avoid stimuli associated with the offense, decreasingly motivated to retaliate against the self 地nd increasingly motivated to act benevolently toward the self" (Hall & Fincham 2005: 622).
Forgiveness by the World English Dictionary is the “act of forgiving; state of being forgiven, disposition or willingness to forgive”. But what does it really mean? That is my question. Is being able to forgive and not forget the same thing? In my life, I have found that true forgiveness is a quality that separates us from other species and it is what makes us human. In order to truly and sincerely forgive, one must, aside from saying they have forgiven the person, let it go and not hold a grudge against that person. Just, as Mahatma Gandhi once said: “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." I believe that holds to be true.
This in turn leads to the idea in which forgiveness is a cancellation of a debt and the offended party no longer expects repayment for the pain caused (Pettigrove, 2012). Additionally, forgiveness is the release of bitterness or anger as an effect of an apparent offense while ceasing to demand punishment (Pettigrove, 2012). Furthermore, it begins by accepting what has happened and choosing to let go by making a decision to forgive and love the offender by canceling the debt (Pettigrove, 2012). Likewise, it releases judgement as well as thoughts of revenge or ill-will to the one who caused harm while resuming some form of a relationship with those who caused the hardship (Pettigrove, 2012). What is more, it is taking the responsibility for one’s own feelings while taking back control of one’s life instead of allowing those feelings complete control (Pettigrove, 2012). Finally, it allows God the room to move and work within our lives as He begins to heal the brokenness.
In general, self-forgiveness is identified by a common ability to exhibit self-respect in spite of the acceptance of wrong-doing (Hall, J., Fincham, D., 2005). I never considered the distinction between interpersonal forgiveness and intrapersonal forgiveness. While they share many similarities, there is even greater evidence of the differences between the two. One significant difference involves the consequences of withholding forgiveness from self. It is likely that intrapersonal unforgiveness can be much more detrimental than interpersonal. Hall & Fincham state “ Self-forgiveness often entails a resolution to change” (2005). It is this process of acceptance of one’s own imperfections and sinful nature that catapults a desire for self-improvement and growth. This is a critical component of healing the soul and beginning the journey to spiritual and mental health. Also enlightening was the declaration that one can experience pseudo self forgiveness by failing to acknowledge any wrong doing and convincing him/herself that they are without fault. Finally, I was struck by the notion that self-forgiveness will typically