The concept of Forgiveness has been around since the beginning of time. Whether you’re religious, spiritual, atheist, etc., the reality is that we live in a broken world with broken people, myself included. Where there is brokenness, there is pain. And where there is pain, there is expression of that pain. Sometimes we express that pain in healthy ways, but often we don’t. Often when we’re in pain, we inflict pain on others.
My dad put it well as I was growing up: “Hurt people hurt people”. Read that again and let it sink in like I had to. Hurt people - people who are hurt - have a tendency to hurt others, mainly the people who hurt them in the first place.
This is why bullies tend to be the most traumatized people on the planet. By intimidating and hurting others, it’s a way of expressing their own pain that was inflicted on them.
Maybe you’ve heard the word forgiveness and rolled your eyes or run for the hills. I have. I was a pastor’s daughter, and I’ve encountered all sorts of spiritual abuse and well-meaning “church mentors” who attempted to guilt and pressure me for not forgiving as quickly as humanly possible when someone hurt me.
So what is Forgiveness, really? And what is it not?
In this episode, I break down the real meaning of it and how to apply it to our daily lives. I share my experience with forgiveness, betrayal, dogma, stigma, and false doctrine. And I will encourage you in your own journeys to forgiveness.
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Forgiveness: What it is, and what it isn’t