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Forgiveness vs. Trust
Understanding the Key Differences
It’s unhealthy to hate. It’s much better to forgive. And yet…
We struggle with forgiveness. Why?
I think one of the reasons is we don’t know what forgiveness is.
“I have discovered that most people who tell me that they cannot forgive a person who wronged them are handicapped by a mistaken understanding of what forgiving is.” — Lewis Swedes
One of the leading misconceptions of forgiveness is that it involves forgetfulness. If you can’t forget something, then you can’t forgive. So goes the argument anyway. And it’s wrong. It’s a misconception.
You don’t have to forget what someone did to forgive that person.
Others believe that forgiveness equates with restoration of trust. Forgiveness is essential to the restoration of trust, but it is not (in and of itself) equal to the restoration of trust.
You can forgive a person and still not fully trust that person.
So…what is forgiveness? This quote sums it up best…
“Forgiveness is me giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me.”…
