A Look Inside Forgiveness

Everyone has the control within them to forgive or not to forgive someone. Forgiveness comes down to taking responsibility for the choices we make and doing what we believe is right. By forgiving others, authority of our own lives can be regained by letting go of the conflicting objects from the past and moving into a more significant direction. The world today is full of conflict and people are being hurt every day. Conflict is seen today in politics, between countries, and between your average everyday people. Conflicts such as those listed above are often shaping the atmosphere we live in and shaping the person we are today. We can see that forgiveness is a place to start when trying to resolve conflicts, but not everyone will choose the path to forgive. There are many ways to deal with forgiveness, such as; letting it go and forgetting about it, coming to an agreement, or maybe even moving on while still remembering the past and choosing to learn from it. It is often hard to grant forgiveness because the definition is open ended.

Many people believe that forgiveness includes simply letting go of resentment and moving on towards a better life. This view is often taken by many psychologists that believe forgiveness and reconciliation can occur without the other (Frise and McMinn 84). As stated by de Waal and Pokorny, “Forgiveness is merely an internal process whereas reconciliation is an external, relational process” (Frise and McMinn 84). Forgiving someone and letting go can be an extremely difficult challenge, but it would be even more difficult to hold a grudge, unable to come to an agreement. There may come a time that saying, “I forgive you” is the only way to establish a strong self-esteem level and create the o...

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...h both of these ideas may be a part of forgiving, the best way to provide forgiveness is to oneself. Conflicts are a part of everyone’s life, but a rather important part to life is learning from past conflicts to reach forgiveness.

Works Cited

Frise, Nathan R., and Mark R. McMinn. “Forgiveness and Reconciliation: The Differing Perspectives of Psychologists and Christian

Theologians.” Journal of Psychology and Theology 38.2 (2010): 83-90. Print.

King, Jr., Martin Luther. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.].” African Studies Center. N.p., 2010. Web. 12 April. 2014.

New American Bible. Nashville: World Bible, 1987. Print.

Wiesenthal, Simon. “Title of Selection.” The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. Eds. Harry J. Cargas, Bonny

V. Fetterman, and Simon Wiesenthal. New York: Schocken Books Inc., 1998. 1-100. Print.