Me, Forgive You? Seriously?

On Sunday, I watched the conclusion of the TV series, The Bible. I watched in awe as people mistreated, ridiculed and beat Jesus Christ. Throughout all of His sufferings, He never complained and He forgave those who caused Him harm.

I found myself thinking about the times that I've been hurt or have hurt others. It's so easy to justify retaliation. After all, we can't allow others to "get over" on us. We have to "save face; get back at or get even" with them. You could bet that if you were intent on making me look bad or harming me in any way, that justice would be mine (as I did not support the "turn the other cheek" philosophy).

What I learned from this attitude was that I carried around anger, stress, bitterness and resentment. I built walls of protection around myself expecting that people were out to get me. Half the time the people I was mad at didn't even realize that I was holding a grudge towards them. So, why was it so easy to remain bitter? Well, for one thing, it allowed me to hide; to not deal with the issue(s). For sympathy, I could retell my story over and over. I could convince others to be mad at the people who offended me. I could even intimidate and/or control those who I felt deserved it.

As I got older, I realized that my attitude served no purpose. I had imprisoned myself in the same walls that were supposed to protect me. I was allowing the hurtful words spoken by others to affect my happiness. I had to resolve this inner turmoil. There was no benefit from my unwillingness to let things go; to forgive.

So, I needed to figure out how to forgive those who I felt didn't deserve my forgiveness. I then realized that I had it backwards. Yes, I had to forgive others, but, more importantly I had to forgive myself. I also had to seek forgiveness from those whom I had offended. That was the only way that I could heal and break down the walls I had constructed. Forgiving doesn't mean that I condone the "behavior". It merely means that I will no longer carry around excess baggage resulting from past hurts.

I made forgiveness a lifestyle. I can now forgive more easily because I've freed myself of the victim mentality that goes hand in hand with unforgiveness. I don't have to react negatively. I can let things "roll off" of me. I choose to extend the olive branch and be the bigger person.

Me, forgive you? Seriously? No problem!!