ChoicesSample

Will you choose to forgive?

The words went deep. Their actions changed you. The lying and deceit left you devastated and financially disabled. The abuse left you feeling less than and alone. What they did seems unforgivable. I know. I’ve been there.

If we forgive them, it somehow seems like we are condoning the behavior. It goes against our sense of justice to let them get by with their deplorable actions and behavior.

I’ve learned that forgiveness isn’t about the other person. It’s about me and my heart. When I can’t let something go and forgive that offense, it eats away at who I am. It twists me up with strong roots that eventually turn into bitterness. Unforgiveness keeps me from growing, learning, and living in the freedom of who God wants me to be.

It’s been said that unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Unforgiveness is actually killing us from the inside out. Our hearts are blackened with the sin of keeping score, of wanting vindication, of hoping that the other person can experience just a little of what we have felt.

God knows the prison that unforgiveness will create in our hearts and minds. It’s an unholy place He cannot inhabit. He even says that if we can’t forgive others, He can’t forgive us. Wow! That’s a scary thought.

Forgiveness is letting others off our hook. It’s not an easy choice, and it does not mean forgetting, but it is the act of releasing and allowing God to deal with them in His way, in His time. He promises He will. Do we trust Him?

Choose to forgive, because you are forgiven.