Judgment
Judgment sticks labels on people. Forgiveness peels them off. God doesn’t label; God sees.
— Hugh Prather, Spiritual Notes to Myself, p. 19
Category: Forgiveness
10 Posts
For Me
Forgiveness isn’t something nice I do for someone who is “guilty.” Forgiveness is something nice I do for my own mind. Do I want a mind that tortures me or one that is a friend to me?
— Hugh Prather, Spiritual Notes to Myself, p. 19
Little Tests
Our life unfolds as if God were showing us a slide show, and each slide is a little test. God says, “Can you forgive this?” If the answer is no, God simply moves the slide back for us to view again later.
— Hugh Prather, Spiritual Notes to Myself, p. 18
Forgiveness Begins Where Blame Ends
Forgiveness comes only when we can identify with others and admit to our own imperfection and an equal capacity for wrongdoing.
— Leo Buscaglia, Born for Love
A Greater Truth
It’s not that there is never a mistake or an evil motivation, but that there is something else as well. Forgiveness is the door to experiencing that something else.
Forgiveness doesn’t excuse behavior; it looks past it to a greater truth.
— Hugh Prather, Spiritual Notes to Myself, p. 18
Perspective
Remember to ask Jesus to stand between you and your spouse, and to say only things you would say to Jesus and to listen to everything through the heart of Jesus. When I have felt discouraged, thinking all this was unfair, I often hear Jesus from the cross saying, “And me, what have I done to deserve this?” Bear your cross with humility, patience, and confidence in the Lord.
— testimonial in Your Father Knows Best, compiled by Bob and Charlyne Steinkamp, p. 71
Obedience in the Face of Reason
The one major thing God told me from the very beginning, when I had no clue where I was or where I was going, was obedience in the face of reason. I was to keep a short account with God, cleanse myself daily of anger, bitterness and resentment, and forgive even when I didn’t feel like it. Willingness was, and is, always the key.
— Testimonial in Your Father Knows Best: True Reports from Court of God Moving When People are Praying, compiled by Bob and Charlyne Steinkamp
Free from the Past
When we realize that we are responsible for freeing ourselves from the yokes of the past, we will also free everyone else of this responsibility. Only then can we begin to concentrate more on loving and less on blaming.
— Leo Buscaglia, Born for Love, p. 178
Breaking the Chain of Resentment
The first thing to realize about the terrible Chain of Resentment is that you don’t have to feel it. The experience of resentment is a choice you make.
The second thing to realize is that the Chain of Resentment binds the self more than anyone else. Breaking the chain of resentment means unburdening the self, setting the self free.
No one can just “let go” of resentment. You can resolve resentment only by investing more value in your life. The more you value, the less you will resent. The more compassionate you are, the less you are able to resent.
— Steven Stosny, Manual of the Core Value Workshop, p. 74.
A More Compelling Right
You have an absolute right to be resentful and angry, but exercising that right will only keep the thorns in your heart. You have a more compelling right to heal the wounds you’ve suffered. You can heal with compassion for yourself, with sympathy for your own hurt, and with the motivation to heal and improve. Emotional healing is replacing your core hurts to your core value, so that you can realize your fullest potential as the loving, compassionate, competent, creative person you are meant to be.
— Steven Stosny, You Don’t Have to Take It Anymore, p. 121