There are times when I really wish more people were Amish. They have the best reputation for forgiveness than any other group alive today that I know.
There is an old saying "To err is human. To forgive Divine."
Yet there are a great number of people who are confused as to what forgiveness entails. The old saying "Forgive and forget" to some stipulates continuing to remain within the company of those that my have harmed you. But I think that is a falsehood. For example, though you may forgive someone for hitting you with their car, you do not remain in the road to get hit again.
The opposite of forgiveness is grudge-holding. Grudge-holding leads to seeking revenge, which is not only harmful to others but dangerous to yourself and your own future. Even just holding a grudge causes severe problems.
To be honest, I think this is an incredibly difficult virtue to live but the most rewarding. There is a saying within my church. "Heaven is filled with 2 kinds of people. Those who are forgiven and those who forgive."
The Mayo Clinic did a study on the health benefits of forgiveness once. One of the major benefits is the reduction of stress. But more is that the inability to let go of grudges impedes emotional progress.
Here are a few more study links on the same topic:
John Hopkins
Harvard Medical School
Berkley
Oprah
PBS
Psychology Today
Stanford
Do an internet search for more.
The point is, forgiving is important. Not just for our health, but also for the progress of society and life.
The best example for forgiveness is in the life of Jesus Christ. Whatever people may think or believe about him, he was a man who was abused, dealt with slander, and even when he was being tortured and executed he still asked God to forgive those who were hurting him.
Think about it.
To forgive is Divine.
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