#108: Forgiveness: What It Is and What It Isn’t (Podcast)

2 min read

what is forgiveness

So, let’s say that you’ve been wronged…wronged by your spouse, child, close friend or coworker. You thought you could count on them. You thought you could trust them. They let you down. It hurts. The pain runs deep inside you. What makes things worse, you didn’t deserve it. You didn’t deserve the deed. It wasn’t your fault. Every day the painful video plays inside your head. You cannot erase it from your mental hard drive. Bitterness, resentment, and anger all start to flood your emotions.

How can you be released from this hurt? What can be done?

Well, you’ve got a couple of choices. And only one is the right choice. You can choose to hold onto the hurt and spend the rest of your life with the pain, bitterness, and anger. Or you can choose to be released from it, healed and freed. It’s a decision to forgive the person who has hurt you.

There are a lot of misunderstandings and misconceptions about forgiveness. What is forgiveness? So before we share with you what forgiveness really is, let us talk through what forgiveness is not.

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Discussion Recap

What Forgiveness is NOT

  1. Forgiveness is not a feeling.
  2. Forgiveness does not mean pretending it didn’t happen or hiding from it.
  3. Forgiveness does not mean condoning or excusing a wrong.
  4. Forgiveness is not conditional.
  5. Forgiveness does not mean trust.

What Forgiveness IS

  1. Forgiveness is a decision.
  2. A decision to release.
  3. A decision to pardon.
  4. A decision to grow.

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