What is forgiveness? How do you forgive someone who has angered you?

Answer 1

That depends ,if you are a Christian or not, God has commanded us to forgive, because He says He has created us in His Image, so the Love of God lives in us .
But even if you are not a Christian, it is beneficial for you to forgive, the sooner you do it ,the better for you. Unforgiveness has been proven to cause depression ,cancer and all kinds of diseases. When you forgive , you are free , free from the other person holding you hostage with your feelings. Most of the time ,the person who offended you ,has gone on with their life and you are still bitter about something ,that they did to you ten years ago.
Just forgive and enjoy your new freedom !!!

Answer 2

It depends.

First of all, forgiveness shouldn't be just automatic. There should be a reason to forgive a person. However, even if you don't forgive a person, you should eventually get over your dispute yourself and not dwell too much on what the person did. Remember that any relationship with a person is not an all or nothing endeavor. You can still work with a person and even like another person even though you don't forgive him for one thing he (or she) did. The person's other qualities might override any slight the person made against you.

If the person makes an honest attempt to reconcile, then perhaps you should give the person another chance. That depends on the person and you. The degree of which you let the dispute affect your relationship with the other person also depends on your relationship with the person.

I'll give you a more concrete example. A friend of mine stole something from a store when we were younger. I don't think I have to forgive him for that. No matter what, that was wrong, in my opinion. However, these days it doesn't really cross my mind much. It does still color my opinion of him, but both of us have changed since then. And there are other things about my friend that I consider much more important. If he were to have tried to make amends by returning the item to the store, I would think more highly of him. However, I don't think that lowly of him now. He is more than any one of his actions.

It's a matter of putting everything into perspective.

Your question is fairly general, so I can't really offer you any more detailed of an answer.

Answer 3

To forgive is powerful..more powerful then holding a destructive grudge.
When you forgive someone, you release them from owing you for a suffered wrong. When you forgive, you give God the opportunity to also release you from the bitterness and anger over that hurt. And you open the door for the person who wronged you..to find God.
All you have to do is say, "Lord, I forgive them"...you will not feel it at first, But the Lord is faithful to help you with the feelings, until they no longer have a hold on you.

Answer 4

Forgiveness in its self is "selfish" If you forgive someone even if you do not feel "forgiving" if you go through the motions of forgiveness,and proceed in forgiving,you in turn are given a gift of having been set free of the empowerment that the anger had over you,so it is really in all of our interests to be a forgiving person,because by doing so we are set free from bondage of self.

Answer 5

What is forgiveness? It is the ability to look into your own heart; and to be able to forgive someone who angered you?; that is the compassion you find when you look there. Love don't hate. Have a good day.

Answer 6

Forgiveness is the act of accepting the deed of another as the result of their failing and acknowledging the fact that they are not perfect. You forgive someone when you realize that your anger is hurting you, not them, and that it is in your best interest to live and let live.

Answer 7

It means you release them from the debt they owe you. If they owe you respect, you stop expecting it; if they owe you money, you stop trying to collect it; if they owe an apology, you stop demanding it; if they stole your coat, you don't try to regain it.

It does NOT mean that you feel all warm and squishy inside whenever you think about the perpetrators, nor does it mean that you become fast friends.

I make a conscious practice of releasing them in my minds eye. If need be, I visualize them tied up by my anger, and I untie them. I also pray that God will help me to forgive, and I pray that God will forgive and bless. Make sure you do NOT discuss this with other people, because bringing it back up can reinfect you.

Answer 8

Forgiveness must be total , there can be no doubts, or conditions. To forgive some one who has hurt you so much is one of the hardest things to do. But, God knows the people that have hurt you. He will deal with them in His own way and time. They will pay for their wrongs against you. Not only will God make them pay but will do it in double. God is a just God and wants you to succeed in life. He doesn't want you to come out of a hurtful si\tuition totally drained. He will help you get through your ordeal in such a way that you will shine amongst those who have accused you and hurt you. Our God is a just God. All you have to do is believe in HIm and trust Him that He will do what is best for you.

Answer 9

You need to understand your body organs and their functions.

Nothing can be felt until it is allowed to get into contact with the relevant body organ.
Examples: If you want to taste something you must allow that thing to your tongue. To feel something you must allow whatever it is to touch your skin and to hear something you must allow whatever it is to get into your ears. Similarly to feel angry, you must allow anger to get into your heart.

The reverse is the same; everything must be removed or discontinued so as not to continue feeling it or its effects. (how it tastes, feels or sounds)

Unforgiveness comes from anger (anger is the mother of unforgiveness). When anger gets into your heart it cannot come out unless you release it and for you to release it you must accept a situation where your heart must be as it was before the anger came in. (To forgive you must allow your heart to cancel the anger and declare the feelings that came in as null and void) If you don't do that the anger and unforgiveness (mother and child) pile into your heart and start weighing your heart down just the same way you would allow an elephant to step on your little finger, eye or man-member. Most people who suffer from heart conditions, heart attacks etc are people who allow unforgivenes to rest in their hearts or hold on to heartache caused by other people including former lovers. Baby, drop it like a hot potato, dont allow yourself to die because someone provoked you.

Answer 10

With the help of the LORD. It has to be supernatural, not of my own doing.
It's realising that much grace and mercy has been shown to me, by the LORD, because I have been forgiven much.
How can I not forgive those who have wronged me, having been shown such forgiveness myself.

I can remember some years ago, I was in a situation where someone had spoken careless words to my son previously, and wishing him dead in a moment of anger, and I was faced with the prognosis that he would not recover, whilst the person who had wished him dead had come to say goodbye to him. The prayer team from our church had come to pray and we were asked to link hands while they prayed. I can remember realising with horror, as the person who had wished my son dead, was standing next to me, and I was expected to link her hand. I can remember saying to the Lord, "I cannot do this in my strength, I need your help." This was one of the hardest things I had ever done. However, as I was obedient and linked hands, I heard God's Holy Spirit speak and say to me "Tell her that you love her". I can remember saying "Lord, I want to do what is right, I want to be obedient to you, but this is asking too much".
I grabbed her arm and said ......"I love you", and even as I opened my mouth, I did not feel as if I did, but as I spoke the words, I felt an almost physical release in the pit of my stomach, and at that moment I felt compassion and love for this person. She needed to hear that - her greatest need was for forgiveness, and my need was that I released forgiveness to her. I believe that one day this person will come to know Christ, because she experienced first hand, supernatural forgiveness. It was powerful for her and for me.