Nicholas Weigand: Forgiveness In Everyday Life

As I was reading the chapter on forgiveness in Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling by McMinn (2011), the personal life experience that jumped out to me was when I had to make the decision to truly forgive my ex-boyfriend and his parents for the emotional pain they caused me. After living in New Jersey for a month and spending time with my boyfriend and his family, working, and taking care of an elderly lady with dementia my world came crashing down on me. My ex-boyfriend’s parents discovered sin in his life and told me I could no longer pursue a relationship with him because of the sins he had committed. After finding out the sinful things my ex-boyfriend had done, I chose to forgive him. I also chose to give him a second chance at a relationship with me, but my effort to salvage our relationship was futile.

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.

Forgive today, live in peace tomorrow. Forgiveness; one of the many hardships we encounter throughout life. As Marianne Williamson, an American author, stated, “Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.” Forgiveness leads to peace because it lets go of all the negative feelings and allows freedom from disturbance to take place.

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.

2. According to the article, forgiveness is granting unconditionally grace to those who have cause suffering and pain and accepting what they did and not letting that affect the love they show to that person. Forgiveness is central for racial reconciliation because forgiveness is the first step of mending the relationship with others. It also allows God to do a work between the two groups. When there is forgiveness God can change hearts and create amazing things to happen out of tragedies.

People devote years trying to obtain revenge for something that happened in the past. In turn, perseverance means to accomplish something without letting anything be in the way and by forgiving others we can demonstrate this amazing quality by putting differences in the past and moving on to the future. In order to achieve colossal works in life we must forgive so we can accomplish massive goals. Let people understand the potential of forgiveness and how it will give you the ability to

The act of forgiveness may appear to be a simple task. Well, it is not.

Forgiveness: the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven. To forgive means to stop being angry, stop blaming, or feeling resentful towards someone for either an offense, flaw or mistake. There is a difference between forgiving someone

Forgiveness is the excuse of an offense.But it never denies the offense, the hurt and damage still exists for years.When integrity is not justified, justice restores individuals and the society to show virtuousness.Justice is all about restoration, not revenge.Revenge is a retreat.But the society does it different from what most people do in personal relationships.Through the journey of individuals life, forgiveness is a special thing.It can be a choice or an emotional spirit.Some people tend to hold bitterness and injustice for years, while others can sweep away the situation.Some people might argue that forgiving with justice makes everything so much easier however, it is obvious that sometimes justice does not help with anything.Often there

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.

In one of C.S. Lewis’ numerous influential books, The Weight of Glory, he states, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” Throughout life people often become angry with another person, or at a situation. Whether a person is in control of that situation or not, as a Christian, the Bible speaks of forgiving and loving others no matter the fault committed against a person. The quote by C.S. Lewis is an example of how it is inexcusable for Christians to not forgive others because God constantly forgives. While Stephen does not completely struggle with the forgiveness aspect throughout his experiences in the book, the various times he becomes angry with another character can sometimes prevent him from forgiving that person right away. In Alan Paton's Cry the Beloved Country, the main character Stephen Kumalo sins against his sister Gertrude and his sons girlfriend, and this shows how Stephen struggles with controlling his anger throughout the story.

In his sermon, preached on Sunday, September 14, 2014, The Rev. Dr. Alexander Evans examined the theme of forgiveness. The sermon is titled “Forgiving From Your Heart.” Matthew 18:21-35 serves as the biblical text for the sermon. This text was one of the assigned lectionary texts for September 14 – the 14th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A.

The cornerstone of the Christian faith is that of forgiveness. Forgiveness is an area in our lives that many of us can struggle with simply because we have to overcome our own pain and suffering that another person has inflicted on us. It also may be believes by many that forgiveness is to forget or condone the person for what they did but, according to the article, “To forgive is to offer mercy to someone who has acted unjustly and then be able to look at the person who violated us and give them mercy.”(Enright & Magnusin, 2008, p. 114)

The Bible instructs one to forgive as the Lord forgave us; Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you”. In conclusion, when one forgives the people that hurt us, one can begin to heal. One forgives by faith, out of obedience. Since forgiveness goes against our nature, we must forgive by faith, whether we feel like it or not. Although forgiving is not the same as forgetting, one has to forgive to move on from pain and disappointment to become happy. One must trust God to do the work in us that needs to be done so that the forgiveness will be complete

Forgiveness is a hard thing to give because forgiveness of another human being involves having you to forgive yourself. It seems a lot easier to withhold forgiveness and remain a victim. The forgiveness that I have given away or I have received has shaped who I am today, therefore becoming a part of me.