“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32)
Do you know what is one of the best things you can do for your health? Forgive others!
There are still times in my life where hurts from my life come back into my mind, some of them from so long ago you’d think they wouldn’t be important anymore. But all of us have moments, even from childhood where something hurtful was said that had a significant impact on us even all these years later.
At that moment I have a choice – I can roll it around in my brain and play with it, thinking about what I should have said that would have been the perfect response, what I could have done that would have ended with a different result, etc. We’ve all been there – reliving the past and it never produces good feelings in us – in fact all it does is reinforce the negative thoughts. My other choice is to forgive them and move on. Why? Because they have. The only person at that moment thinking about what happened is me.
I’m just as certain that I’ve inflicted those moments on others. While I would love the opportunity to apologize to everyone I’ve hurt, we just don’t get that opportunity with everyone. There are some in my past that I’m sure have hurts and wounds from me and I can only pray that they would be able to forgive as well.
Let’s be clear on what forgiveness is and what is isn’t. It’s about letting go, choosing to release the control they have over your mind and emotions and releasing yourself from the control of what took place. Forgiveness is NOT excusing, reconciling, or condoning the other person’s behavior and what took place. It doesn’t mean you need to trust that person again if the hurt was something significant – it merely means you no longer give that event or that person to continue to have control of your mind.
There are so many verses in the bible on forgiveness, so it isn’t a subject it’s silent on. Christ made it clear that forgiveness is our calling as Christians.
But there are other worldly sources that have found the power of forgiveness as well. In 2004 Newsweek did an article on it – you can read it here: http://www.newsweek.com/forgive-and-let-live-129513. The place that was doing the research back then is still doing active research on forgiveness. You can read more about the Templeton Foundation and their studies here:: http://forgiveness.templeton.org/
They have found that Science has proven that on average, people who forgive::
- Are healthier
- Live longer
- Have a lower incidence of depression
- Have lower levels of stress
- Have longer marriages
- That’s a pretty impressive list!!
Make a decision today to toss those toxic thoughts of unforgiveness. Hurts come in all shapes and sizes – even small hurts can build into giant memories over time as we keep replaying them.
Choose today to let go and make room in your brain for positive thoughts.
Dead Man Walking 
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