Revenge & Radical Forgiveness
Why Forgive Those Who Hurt You?
Please watch this 2 minute video before continuing on
Forgiveness - The act of compassionately releasing the desire to punish someone or yourself for an offense.
Forgiveness is a state of grace.
Mercy is not punishing someone as they deserve, and grace is blessing someone despite the fact that they do not deserve it. Mercy is deliverance from judgment. Grace is extending kindness to the unworthy.
Regardless of your personal beliefs, I do not believe that someone can forgive a great wrong done against them or a loved one immediately.
Revenge is the desire to get even with someone who has wronged you. Revenge actually brings you down to the same level as those who you have come to despise. The movies glorify revenge, but for many revenge offers false hope.
Forgiveness is not pretending the act never occurred or letting someone get away with something. It does not even require the perpetrator to ask you for it. Forgiveness releases you from the bonds that make your heart bitter. It is not an easy thing and I know there are people that have suffered unspeakable evil. But those that I have met that have had family members beheaded, siblings raped and been tortured and still find a way to forgive their attackers find a complete peace. I've seen it first hand.
I'd encourage you to see if you are harboring revenge in your heart and deeply reflect on how you want to act on that
I am simply bringing this to light, and understand many feel forgiveness is impossible for what has been done to them and they wish to see the other person suffer for what they have been through. I believe in justice, but to me personally I think that revenge is a type of enslavement to the person who wronged you and you can be set free through forgiveness
You can 100% disagree with my view, and I'm sure some may. You can share your story or a time of forgiveness whether you were the one who wronged someone or was wronged yourself, and your experience with forgiveness, revenge, or both
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La venganza es veneno para el alma
Revenge is poison for the soul
A lot of people find it hard to forgive others and it makes me feel sad, its so easy to say sorry and forgive someone.
It is easy to say sorry and difficult to mean it sometimes. Forgiving someone that hurt or killed a loved one is far more difficult than forgiving someone for stealing ten dollars from you, but both give you peace that passes all understanding. Harboring malice and hate literally eats away at you.
Forgiveness is hard to do. Hating people is much easier.
The best things in life tend to come from difficult experiences. Being able to move past and forgive someone who has wronged you not only shakes off the weight of guilt, pain, or hate you harbor, but also may change someones life around because of the example you set.
You never know the point at which someone is at. You may be the first to show them this sort of kindness and change their lives forever. I have seen people who have murdered a person's family and then been forgiven by a member of that family and become close friends.
Could I do this? I do not know. Revenge is an empty goal. Killing the person who has killed someone you love does not bring anyone back and only brings you down to the sludge that caused the killing in the first place.
Forgive but dont forget how they hurt you
People tend to think that forgiving is a cop out. It does not mean there should be no justice for the crime or actions committed, but that there should be a way to move past that bitterness that crushes your soul. You think you are controlling the hate by seeking revenge, but it is the master.
To be truly free you must be able to forgive
Yes people cannot hold onto grudges or hate or it will be their master. It is not an easy thing to do. It's not mere words, it's a complete mindset that bucks the trend of the normal way people respond.
Well said @benjmiller.
Thank You! I have a lot of respect for you and your work, so that compliment carries great weight.
It is really important to know that when we forgive people we should also forget the things that makes us upset...
It's easy for me to say this, but hard to put it into practice. I think that the more hurt felt the harder it is to forgive, but the bigger the relief felt.