How To Forgive Someone

“Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven’” (Matt 18:21-22).

Have you ever experienced what Jesus meant when He responded to His disciples and said “seventy times seven”? This means to forgive as many times as needed!

I’ve learned that the people you love the most can also hurt you the most. Are you getting the picture? It is said that to hold unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies. To carry anger and resentment within you over what someone did to you is to degrade your creativity, productivity, and serenity. Being mistreated is nothing more than a training camp to build your strength to forgive. And to forgive is to be strong and powerful, versus being weak.

When you harbor resentment, you miss the glory of the present moment. You are living in the past. The grudge is burning away within you, blocking your mastery and silencing your music. So how can you let go? The answer is simple: you let it go. You make the choice to move on with your life, understanding that unforgiveness is carrying the person who hurt you on your back. Pretty draining, right? You set your intention to be the bigger person and seek growth in whatever happened, letting the pain purify you and make you kinder and wiser. And you work to develop the awareness that people do the best they can based on the level of wisdom and awareness they have at that time.

I do know that this is easier written than done. Yet this fact doesn’t reduce the value of my encouragement to you to get great at this skill. Forgiveness will set your productivity, creativity, and joy free. So, forgive. Today.

“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:31-32).