Forgiveness

The New American Dictionary defines forgiveness as the act of forgiving, or to pardon. The Bible says we are to forgive those who trespass against us. It is a choice we make. Throughout our lives, there are always things that happen, are said to us, done to us or against us, sometimes on purpose, sometimes without thought, and sometimes on accident.

We can choose to forgive the people responsible for these things. Or we can choose to keep the hurt feelings, anger and bitterness inside of us for the rest of our lives. Harboring these feelings deep within yourself can cause physical as well as emotional and spiritual illness.

Often times, choosing not to forgive brings on thoughts of bitterness, resentment, depression, hatred and revenge. Even medical research has discovered that people who learn to forgive heal faster physically and mentally than people who want to hold onto the pain.

Forgiveness is not always easy to do. Sometimes counseling, either by a spiritual leader, medical professional, or someone in psychiatric work, is needed. These people are trained to teach the process of learning how to forgive.

Some of us were raised under the rule of “treat others as you would want to be treated," and if you have followed that rule most of your life, you would have had to learn to forgive, because each person desires to be forgiven for the mistakes they have made.