Chapter Five: Why Forgive? Part Three

"Why must we forgive? Because forgiveness is the only way to be fair to ourselves." "Forgiveness sets us free from those dark, evil forces that can storm our minds, seize our souls, and hold us hostage until the ransom of revenge is paid, then paid again and again, until at last we are morally and spiritually bankrupt." "We pardon to the degree we love....to refuse to forgive is to choose to hate." "We are being cruel and unfair when we bind ourselves to a torturous past. Not to forgive is to choose to live backward rather than forward." "Unless we break with the evil past deeds, our present and future are hopelessly overwhelmed and drained of hope." "Maybe in a moment of reflex response we find retaliation the easiest way to live. However, in the long run, retaliation will kill you." "We do not always have a voice or a vote in the painful events that befall us in life. Yet, we have everything to say about the kind of person we become as a result of those events." "God does not offer the gift of forgiveness without giving the power to forgive." "For many of us, the hardest person to forgive is ourselves."