Forgiveness: Why Forgive?

4-5 Statements

Intro

I am glad you are interested in Forgiveness and watching this video on the benefits. But if you think you can skip the first video and jump to the Benefits of Forgiveness, well, that is not wise for you. You need to see the first video, Forgiveness: What Is It?, first so you can have definitions, key phrases that will be used in this and the other videos.

Jesus is in his last week of public ministry, often called the Passion Week. he is telling his disciples, simply and strongly, about important subjects, like forgiveness. He said, 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.”

If you have watched the 1st video, you will remember some of the phrases that are used to define forgiveness. You are realizing WHO needs to do the forgiving. We certainly hope you can recall the parable of the unforgiving servant, and especially what happened to him. All this causes anyone to want to develop the spirit of forgiveness.

Let’s start today by examining the Physical Benefits of a Forgiving spirit. A solid investigation of internet sources reveals that people who forgive have less hostility aimed at them, according to the Mayo Clinic. John Hopkins Medicine reports forgivers have lower blood pressure, better heart health, and a reduced risk of a heart attack. And they say that a forgiving person gets to sleep better.

As to the mental aspect of developing forgiveness, Mayo clinic reports forgivers have reduced anxiety and stress, either of which can cause stomach ulcers or worse. Harvard Health reports people who consistently forgive others have a better self-esteem and satisfaction with life in general. Plus the American Psychological Association says these people have decreased anger and chronic stress.

So if you are interested in only the physical and nothing spiritual, this should be enough to encourage you to be someone who “let’s go” of offenses. You can try to become someone who sets aside the wrongs done to themselves.

But if you have eyes that look farther down the road, say, into or toward eternity, well, God wants you to see the ADDITIONAL benefits he offers through his son. Remember how God sees both your present and your future, and gives his timeless instructions for a better life now AND what is needed to have eternal life with him.

God shared centuries ago how you, today, can have an improved emotional status. He told us that if we want the benefits of forgiveness, we need to be of a forgiving spirit. Luke 11:4 “ and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

God tell us about how forgiveness can produce happiness, often called “Blessed” in the New Testament. Paul, the apostle of Jesus, put in writing to the Romans, “BLESSED are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;  (8)  blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” (Romans 4:7-8) I am sure you want happiness. Forgiveness is a great way to gain it.

In Mark’s Passion Week statement about forgiveness, Jesus said that “if we have ANYTHING against ANYONE,” (Mark 11:25) we will forgive so we can have forgiveness from God. When you do the forgiving, God tells us that you are also getting rid of all the stress, all the baggage that comes with holding grudges and hanging on to offenses done to us.

God also warns us that if we don’t forgive, we will be heaping extra problems on ourselves. God won’t forgive us. And that is not good. You should be remembering the parable of the unforgiving servant and what happened to him (Luke 18:23-35). Remember how Jesus said, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:35 )

Jesus taught us that when we forgive others, there are opportunities for our social life to improve. Let’s see what he said. “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,  (4)  and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (Luke 17:3-4)

You see, sometimes people, even brothers in Christ, may hurt you. But they, the offender, may not know or realize that they have done you wrong. If they don’t know, who suffers? Them? Or You? You do. So, Jesus wants everyone involved to be better. You need to inform the offender gently, kindly, realizing you could have done the same thing on another occasion. You tell them about what they have done, and how you are feeling about the deed with kindness and firmness. Now understand this clearly. We are upset about the wrong, not the individual personally. Most reasonable people will see how you are wanting to forgive them and will be apologetic and will try not to do that same thing again, to you or anyone else. And as long as he keeps trying to do better, and you keep informing him if necessary, you MUST forgive. What will this do to your relationship with that individual? It will get better and better. Being forgiving gives you an improved social life.

And, I will remind you that for you to get to heaven, you must be like Jesus. And Jesus was forgiving to anyone and everyone, no matter what they did to him. So, to prevent your permanent address becoming 312 North Street in Hell, develop the beneficial spirit of being continuously forgiving others, no matter what.

Unfortunately, some people keep making bad choices. They are determined NOT to be forgiving. They have demands that can’t be met. In the next video, part three, we will see a good number of reasons why people refuse to forgive others.

Are you one of them? Do you have great difficulty in “letting things be”, walking away, forgiving? Then you need to pause only for a moment and watch this video about what stops forgiveness. It is important to you physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. Watch it now.

After watching this video, or after completing the 4-video series, if you need help with forgiveness or any other problem, we invite you to contact us by using the phone number you see here  Call us and leave a voice message, or better, send us a long text message. You could also use the contact page on TimelessTalks.Net to inform us of your situation and needs. You could also visit our booklet page where there are numerous free booklets relating to forgiveness. Go there. Read the booklet online for free. Or download a copy to your phone. You can even request a printed copy. All for free.

We want only the best for you. So do something now. There are 2 immediate choices. Contact us now, or watch the next video (transcript) you see here. I normally ask you to visit us again tomorrow, but this is too important. Watch it now. I’ll see ya there.