The Spiritual Fitness ManualSample

Forgiveness – Part 1

By Joey Hudson, President, Gallagher’s Army Fallen Heroes Fund 

We have all found ourselves with the sense of discontentment, restlessness, and uneasiness when we are at odds with others or ourselves. The same feeling happens when opening the refrigerator and trying to find something to satisfy a craving, yet we can’t find anything that would seem to fill this emptiness. We know there is emptiness—and we think it’s our stomach—but maybe it’s an empty soul instead. Maybe we need the food of forgiveness offered only by our heavenly Father. 

Forgiveness is a powerful feeling. Whether we ask for forgiveness for how we have treated someone or we forgive another for a perceived transgression against us, the mere act of forgiveness can affect how good we feel about ourselves and other people in our lives. Dr. Michael McCullough, professor of psychology at the University of Miami, conducted two different studies. The studies concluded that the act of forgiving someone made you feel better about yourself. If you were close to that person, or they apologized, the effect was even stronger.

Participants got a bigger boost in well being the following day after forgiving that person. The lesson, as the Bible teaches us, is forgive people if they do something wrong, especially if they are someone close to you.

If you have transgressed against someone, apologize for it. Chances are you will feel better the next day. Forgiveness is more than just a “feel-good” exercise. Forgiveness, and the lack of it, can have physical symptoms too. Many researchers have found that holding a grudge can have the same effects on our bodies as other stressful events: our blood pressure rises, muscles tense and we even begin to sweat. Some doctors suggest there is a correlation between forgiving someone for a betrayal and improvements in heart health by decreasing the workload on our hearts. In fact, a study published a few years ago in the journal “Circulation” suggests that angry people are three times more likely to suffer sudden cardiac arrest than their less-angry counterparts. 

Want to keep your heart healthy? The Bible is very clear on forgiveness. God forgive us and he actually forgets our sins. We’ve all heard the saying, “forgive and forget” because this is what God’s word teaches us.