Justin Lassiter
11/5/13
Mrs. Mignon 2A
Today the question is: what is forgiveness? What does it look like? What isn't it? We have heard from Jesus that it is necessary. It is not icing on the cake of Christianity. If we don't experience it and offer it to others, we will perish in our sin. So it is tremendously important to know what this is that is so essential to our eternal life. Let me begin with a definition of forgiveness. Forgiveness is not feeling angry or resentful toward someone for an offense, flaw, or mistake. Forgiveness helps us feel light and helps us get rid of hard feelings that occupy our mind and heart and eat away our peace of mind. Forgiveness and its benefits have been inspected in spiritual contemplation, the social sciences and fields of general practitioners. Forgiveness is a way to self-fulfillment. People who can freely forgive others are much more responsible and satisfied inside than those who keep grudges against others and develop feelings of hatred. The feeling of torment only results in arguments, fights, mistreatments and war in certain cases. Those who forgive help create positive energy on this planet. Forgiveness is a task not easily accomplished. It requires an individual to release all negative emotions related with the transgressions against them. Importantly, it requires forgetting what another person has done. It is easier said than done. Rage, revenge, resentment, and sorrow are only a few of the emotions that an individual must face when considering forgiveness. Yet, those who forgive are not burden with those emotions, unlike whomever did them wrong who must suffer the ramifications of their actions. In my opinion, everything can be forgiven, but not forgotten. For one thing I we must learn from our mistakes, so to forget an instance would leave yourself vulnerable to being hurt in the same way again. Obviously it is easy to say everything can be forgiven, but you never know how