Gospel Readings and Teachings

Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us

Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us

You’ve been wronged. At the very least, you feel wronged. Maybe it’s something small: Someone lied to you about a date. Or maybe it’s something big: Someone stole from you, humiliated you, or worse. The point is that it hurts—and if you’re like most of us, the person who hurt you doesn’t seem very apologetic or remorseful at all! In fact, they’re probably acting as if nothing’s wrong when all along they knew exactly what they were doing was wrong and hurtful.

How to forgive when you’re angry

When you’re angry, it can be difficult to forgive those who have hurt you. But the benefits of forgiveness are great—for both the forgiver and the forgiven. If you want to learn how to forgive someone who has wronged you or your loved ones, follow these steps:

  • Remember that forgiveness is a choice. It’s not something someone else has to give you in order for your life to be better; it’s something that only comes from within yourself.
  • Let go of any expectations that they will ever apologize or make amends (if they haven’t already). This may sound harsh or unkind at first glance, but truly letting go means accepting that the person probably won’t change his or her behavior in any major way after this incident. Even if they do apologize, there’s no guarantee that he or she will remember what he/she did wrong next time around! So instead of focusing on all those things people should say and do, try thinking more about yourself and what *you* need from this situation: Do I want peace in my heart? Do I want freedom from anger toward him/her? And so on…

Once you’ve answered these questions honestly for yourself, then consider how forgiving others might help move forward with your own healing process–and get some closure!

How to forgive when you’ve been deeply harmed

Forgiveness is a choice. This can be difficult to remember, particularly when you’re still hurting. But it’s true. The ability to forgive doesn’t come automatically; it’s something you have to decide on your own, without expectation or pressure from others—and especially without any expectation of what will happen if you do choose forgiveness.

Forgiveness is also not the same thing as trust or reconciliation; it doesn’t mean that you’ll be part of a relationship with someone who has hurt you again after forgiving them (although this may happen). Forgiving someone means acknowledging that they were wrong and giving up any desire for revenge, even though it might seem right at first glance because we feel so angry and betrayed by their actions toward us.

Forgiveness does set the stage for healing by releasing our emotions from our bodies; when we hold onto anger or resentment for too long, these emotions can cause tension throughout our bodies over time (sometimes leading people who’ve been harmed into mental illness). Forgiving those who have trespassed against us allows us to move forward in life instead of dwelling on what happened in the past—and ultimately helps us live better lives overall!

How to forgive someone who doesn’t want forgiveness

If a person is asking for your forgiveness, that’s a different story. If a friend or family member has wronged you and is genuinely sorry, it may be easier to forgive him or her. But if the person who trespassed against you doesn’t want to apologize? Well, then it’s up to you how much weight that trespass carries in your life.

Forgiveness can be beneficial for the forgiver as well as the forgiven—after all, no one wants to carry around negative feelings of anger or resentment forever! If someone has done something hurtful (or even illegal), they’ll probably feel better after apologizing and receiving forgiveness from their victim than they would if they continued on with their bad behavior without ever admitting fault or making amends. Forgiveness can also help rebuild trust between people who’ve had problems in the past—if someone hurts another person once but then fixes the problem by apologizing and reparations are made (e.g., paying restitution), both parties have good reason not only to forgive each other but also try harder not make those same mistakes again later on down the road when dealing with other situations together!

Lastly—and perhaps most importantly when considering whether or not forgiving someone else might actually benefit them more than ourselves: forgiving others sets an example for our children about how we should treat others when we’ve been wronged by them too (even if those children aren’t yet old enough understand what exactly went wrong). If parents teach their kids early on that “it’s okay” when someone does something hurtful towards us because everyone makes mistakes sometimes–and then show by example how best practice forgiveness rather than hold grudges against others who may have done something wrong before; ultimately helping everyone move forward in life together instead

Why You Should Forgive Others

  • Forgiveness is good for your health. Research shows that holding onto anger can increase your risk of developing heart disease or other conditions, as well as making you less likely to seek treatment when needed.
  • Forgiveness is good for your mental health. Anger and resentment often lead to depression, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In fact, PTSD can be directly linked with a lack of forgiveness in a situation where someone has hurt us or those we love.
  • Forgiveness is good for your spiritual health. When we hold onto unforgiveness toward someone else, it keeps us from forgiving ourselves—and continuing the cycle of sin from generation to generation in our families through bitterness passed down over centuries. The Bible says in Micah 7:19: “If I am guilty—woe me! If I am innocent—I cannot bear it!” It doesn’t matter what happened; if we’ve done something wrong or another person has done something wrong against us, God still wants us to forgive them because He forgives us every day! This means that He also wants us to forgive others who have hurt us as well.”

Forgiveness isn’t a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.

Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. It’s also not an emotional act, it’s a physical one—and that can be helpful to remember when you’re struggling with forgiving someone who has hurt or disappointed you.

  • Forgiveness is an act of maturity. You don’t have to hold on to anger or resentment forever; letting go means that you’re taking control over your own life and choosing not to let the actions of others affect you any longer. This can be hard if someone has wronged us in some way, but forgiveness shows others that we have matured beyond our initial reaction (anger) and moved forward.* Forgiveness is about resilience—it allows us to keep going after something bad happens instead of being crushed by it.* Forgiveness takes courage because it requires us to face our own mistakes so we can grow from them.* When we forgive someone else for hurting us, we are helping them become better people too!

Forgiving others isn’t just good for them—it helps us grow too!

In summary, forgiveness is not an easy thing to do. It’s a process that takes time and effort, and it can be painful. But as you can see from these stories of people who have forgiven those who have trespassed against them, the rewards are worth the struggle. The bottom line? Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness, but rather strength—and it’s one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself and others.

Leave a Reply

Back to top button