“Bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive.”
Colossians 3:13 Amplified
Think about what harboring a hurt does to your spirit. It steals most of the joy from your life. It robs you of a lot of peace. It minimizes your ability to be patient with others. It turns your kindness into something prejudiced and selective. It stains all the goodness in you. It has been said, “Unforgiveness warps your mind into thinking you are a self-controlled person, when in reality you are out of control. Keeping score just brings you more pain and causes a whole lot of pain for others.”
It was David Smith who said in an article called, Love Doesn’t Keep Score, “Such a spirit is fit only for a cross and a cross is precisely what God did with it. If anyone has a right to resent and not forgive, it is God. He is misunderstood, denied, misquoted, and defied and has been since the fall.” Joel Osteen says this about forgiveness. “If you feel ‘stuck’ today you may want to examine what you’re holding on to. Be willing to let go of past disappointments by choosing to forgive. Who hurt you? Release it to God. Do you need to forgive yourself? Do you need to receive God’s forgiveness? Let go of your past so you can overcome disappointments and experience a bright futureGod has in store for you. There is freedom in forgetting!”