Forgiveness is simple... Yet we make it so complex!
In our mind we can understand that by forgiving someone or something we are in control & no longer give that emotion, person, or situation power over our life! However, our fleshly stubbornness prevents us from freedom! I heard a brave woman tell her story recently and for 20 years she allowed bitterness, shame, guilt, anger & the inability to forgive control her life. It was when she finally decided to let go and deal with her anger and forgive her perpetrator that she could live in happiness.
This woman in my opinion had every right to detest her offender but no matter how serious the offense, without forgiveness the offended will live in bondage.
Now, if a woman can forgive a man of rape; a humiliating, shameful, degrading, violent crime. Why is it not possible to forgive someone for having a loose tongue, being rude, correcting your child, gossip etc?
Life is too short to give anyone so much power over your life that you are unable to truly live. Imagine how much you can miss out on with friends and family because your mind, heart and soul are overwhelmed in your hatred!
Is it really worth it? Was it really that serious? Take control & let it roll!
I can only speak from my experiences in life but I can tell you that as a teenager I had an attitude... MAJOR! There were people in my life that completely shut me out by a decision I made on a whim & had the "I'm doing it, I don't care what you think, you don't know what's best for me" attitude! Granted the decision was right however I went about it the wrong way! However, one moment altered vital relationships in my life to this day.
My brother was always into trouble! His first legal offense not only changed his record but destroyed relationships in his life. When he came home from 6wks in bootcamp, I remember him going down a list calling people to hang out but everyone was just "too busy". It was then that he made a choice to surround himself with people who didn't judge him and who did make time for him. His inability to forgive took his life at 19.
You can easily see how each story is different, yet the same because relationships were negatively and positively changed through forgiveness. Each story was a young person, and who knows better than me that teenagers don't always do it the right way but how dare we as adults condemn them and shut them out because of it!
Shame on you, if you have an unresolved problem with anyone. Life is too short and if we can't love & forgive through it all then we are not living the life God intended. Your inability to forgive someone could change their life & yours in a way that you may never recover from.
Take off your chains of bondage and forgive your offender.
I John 4:11 "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."
In our mind we can understand that by forgiving someone or something we are in control & no longer give that emotion, person, or situation power over our life! However, our fleshly stubbornness prevents us from freedom! I heard a brave woman tell her story recently and for 20 years she allowed bitterness, shame, guilt, anger & the inability to forgive control her life. It was when she finally decided to let go and deal with her anger and forgive her perpetrator that she could live in happiness.
This woman in my opinion had every right to detest her offender but no matter how serious the offense, without forgiveness the offended will live in bondage.
Now, if a woman can forgive a man of rape; a humiliating, shameful, degrading, violent crime. Why is it not possible to forgive someone for having a loose tongue, being rude, correcting your child, gossip etc?
Life is too short to give anyone so much power over your life that you are unable to truly live. Imagine how much you can miss out on with friends and family because your mind, heart and soul are overwhelmed in your hatred!
Is it really worth it? Was it really that serious? Take control & let it roll!
I can only speak from my experiences in life but I can tell you that as a teenager I had an attitude... MAJOR! There were people in my life that completely shut me out by a decision I made on a whim & had the "I'm doing it, I don't care what you think, you don't know what's best for me" attitude! Granted the decision was right however I went about it the wrong way! However, one moment altered vital relationships in my life to this day.
My brother was always into trouble! His first legal offense not only changed his record but destroyed relationships in his life. When he came home from 6wks in bootcamp, I remember him going down a list calling people to hang out but everyone was just "too busy". It was then that he made a choice to surround himself with people who didn't judge him and who did make time for him. His inability to forgive took his life at 19.
You can easily see how each story is different, yet the same because relationships were negatively and positively changed through forgiveness. Each story was a young person, and who knows better than me that teenagers don't always do it the right way but how dare we as adults condemn them and shut them out because of it!
Shame on you, if you have an unresolved problem with anyone. Life is too short and if we can't love & forgive through it all then we are not living the life God intended. Your inability to forgive someone could change their life & yours in a way that you may never recover from.
Take off your chains of bondage and forgive your offender.
I John 4:11 "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."
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