Freedom Through Forgivenessنموونە

Don’t Blame Yourself

"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" - Matthew 22:37 - 39 NKJV

We can’t give to other people what we haven’t given to ourselves. To forgive others, we must first decide to forgive ourselves. You are responsible for your response to the offense, and the best response is forgiveness, not blame. They remain the same and choose not to forgive themselves, while in their minds, they believe they have forgiven the other person.

Jesus said in Matthew 22:39 that the second greatest commandment, after loving God, is to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Why didn’t He say, "Love yourself as you love your neighbor?" It’s because we are supposed to prioritize our own health over the health of others.

We can’t give to other people what we haven’t given to ourselves. To forgive others, we must first decide to forgive ourselves. You are responsible for your response to the offense, and the best response is forgiveness, not blame.

We are responsible for the way we respond to any given situation. Whether it be at work, personal, or random, we choose how we respond. Do not blame yourself for what someone else did to you.

Don’t blame someone else for how you respond to the pain they caused. This may sound cold and heartless, and I don’t intend to come across that way. Let me explain a little further.

The pain that was caused by someone who offended you is real. I am not minimizing it, and yes, it is their fault that you are dealing with it. However, now that it has happened, it is your responsibility to overcome the pain that is there.

You are still alive today. Stop using blame as a tool. Don’t blame the other person for the position that you are in. Don’t blame yourself for what they did. Today, you can get up from where you are and take a step forward.

It won't be easy, but you can do it.

Forgiveness is more about overcoming what was done to us than what was actually done to us.

When our focus is on the person or people who caused our pain, we take our attention away from the One who provides healing for it.

You Don't Have to Stay a Victim

Even though you may have had some horrible events happen to you in your life, it doesn't mean that those events should define you. You don't have to remain a victim. You are already an overcomer!

"For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." - 1 John 5:4 ESV

Your faith was given to you for times like these. The easy road is to stay in self-pity and agony, saying, "Why me, Lord, why me?" over and over again.

Allow God to help you get up, dust yourself off, and move forward.

Some people take no blame for anything they do. No matter what happens, it is always someone else's fault. Ironically, this usually comes from a place of low self-esteem as well. They think so lowly of themselves that they can't take one more thing that's a negative to them. So, they do what seems to be a constant thread through the history of mankind. They blame other people.

As we have said before, what happened to you may not have been your fault, but how you respond to it is your responsibility. Are you going to stay in the pit, or will you do what it takes to get out of the pit?

If you are going to get out of the pit, you are going to need to forgive!