Forgiveness

Foundational

Value

What is Forgiveness:

Forgiveness is about releasing feelings of ill will or resentment towards another person or group.

To Forgive is to wipe the slate clean of
negative feelings towards another, and replace those negative feelings with Acceptance and Love.

Forgiveness is healing yourself by releasing any corrosive anger or deeply felt negative feelings you have or might be holding onto.

Forgiveness is reaching out to someone and welcoming them back into Friendship, Relationship, and Family.

Forgiveness is an Act of Love.

Forgiveness is to Save and set Free.

Examples of Forgiveness:

The Value of Forgiveness is one of Love; where the forgiver places life and freedom, growth and learning, peace and purpose, above the hostility of punishment and banishment.

Forgiveness can be amnesty for a people or it can be a simple gesture of one to one.

Examples of Forgiveness are:

Forgiving a Friend who has unknowingly done something that upsets You, and you feel betrayed : and without forgiveness, the likelihood is a small thing disrupts the friendship.

A Wife forgiving her Husband for straying; thereby giving him another chance to honor his commitment and save his family from breaking up.

A robbery Victim forgiving the thief for his crime; thereby giving him that one chance, that one break, which may allow him to turn his life around.

A Businessman forgiving a Teen for shoplifting, thereby providing an opportunity for redemption and growth.

The Christian forgiving the Atheist for her prejudice against God; perhaps creating an Opportunity for her redemption.

Anti-Value: Condemn

Condemn is the opposite of Forgiveness.

To Condemn is the dual act of accusing, with the intent of punishment.

Condemning a person is to show an unrelenting harshness to that individual and a willful focus to see the Person pay a penalty as Vengeance for a perceived transgression.

Condemnation involves judging another person, or group, or individual, or an idea, or a belief; and then acting against that target with the willful purpose of causing Harm, Pain, or Death.

Those who are Condemners are typically irrational, unmerciful, rash, eager to throw the “first stone”. They are unreasonable fanatics, seeking authority and control over others, often through outright murder.

Biblical References of Forgiveness:

Mark 11:25: “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Matthew 18:21-22: Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven”

Luke 6:37: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;”

Luke 17:3-4: “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”