{"id":1054,"date":"2012-09-12T14:56:02","date_gmt":"2012-09-12T14:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chadstutzman.net\/?p=1054"},"modified":"2012-09-12T14:56:02","modified_gmt":"2012-09-12T14:56:02","slug":"six-guidelines-for-forgiveness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadstutzman.com\/?p=1054","title":{"rendered":"Six Guidelines for Forgiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Practicing forgiveness is one of the most powerful ways a person can stay emotionally healthy.\u00a0 This is the most effective way to release negative emotions like anger, resentment, hurt and unloved.\u00a0 Because this is such an important part of healthy relationships I want to give some guidelines on forgiveness:<\/p>\n

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  1. Forgiveness is a choice<\/strong> – We seldom feel like forgiving someone that offended us or hurt us.\u00a0 It is an act of our will to let go of the the offense.<\/li>\n
  2. Forgiveness is a matter of stewardship<\/strong> – Colossians 3:13 says “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”\u00a0 Because we have been forgiven, we should forgive others.\u00a0 We often choose not to forgive because the person that hurt us does not deserve to be forgiven.\u00a0 The truth is that no one deserves to be forgiven.\u00a0 When we remember the grace that God gave us it can help us to extend that kind of grace and forgivenees to others.<\/li>\n
  3. We should forgive whether or not our offender asks for forgiveness – <\/strong>Jesus forgave the people that abused him and nailed him to a cross.\u00a0 Forgiveness is not based on whether our offender deserves our forgiveness or whether or not they ask for it.\u00a0 We are to forgive because we have been forgiven.\u00a0 Forgiveness releases negative emotions and when we wait for someone to ask for forgiveness those negative emotions can cause much damage to our emotional state and relationships.<\/li>\n
  4. We should not make our forgiveness conditional – <\/strong>God forgave us with no strings attached, we should do the same.\u00a0 We should not say:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n