What role does forgiveness play in our spiritual development?

I try to forgive people when they have done me wrong. Sometimes it is hard.

How can we not forgive when God himself has forgiven us? We have to be forgiving because we have a forgiving God.

Forgiving is so important, as God is the best example in forgiving us. Even if some don't ask to be forgiven, we need to get rid of feelings of grudge, and let God take care of the case. Jesus said that we should even love our enemies. Not easy to learn this, but we can pray for help to leave the bad feelings.

Forgiveness is a hard thing to do sometimes depending on the level of hurt. I was an unwanted child. My father disowned me and never gave my mother financial help for me. My mother did not like girls and I spent most of my life even up to adulthood trying to please her. It never worked. She saw me as a ticket to help with the my younger siblings and I just relocated from everybody. It took me years to forgive my father but God made me able to when I went to convention and I was picked out of the choir. The man of God told me that I was an unwanted child but God wants me and He is both my mother and father. I began to cry because I have sought my parents' approval in so many ways and it was never acknowledged. I went far as to borrow loan to help my mother and she would say only her boys helped her. I love my brothers and my mother dearly always have even when she could not love me. Well I am over it and she even was saying to me that had she known then what she knew now she would have treated me better. You know the song? If I never then what I know, I would find a way to make things work out, I would have held you tight I would have treated right if I knew then what I know now....many times I wanted my mother to hug me and to tell me when I am discouraged that things will work out. She never did and I felt like a failure until God reached down in love and showed me real love. You know I was walking one day and a lady came and hug me saying that the Lord told her to hug me and to remind me that He loves me. That day I felt so good. IF they are my parents and it was hard I know in other situations it may be just as hard. I have a coworker who takes my name to the Head and she even told me that I would never move from the desk am at because I do not care what people say about me. She wanted to tell me what she thought and I told her I did not care so she should keep it to herself. The most painful things is that after saying that to me she went to the Head and complained about me conveniently leaving out what she said. When I told her to tell the Head she tried to pretty it up. The end result is that it took me months to forgive her...I am not totally over it but am getting there. God is slowly moving the resentment and hurt because she even accused me of sabotaging her work. It was painful because she does nothing but sit on the phone and chats loudly disturbing the office and of course the Head does nothing. I wonder if she even knows or cares well for me forgiveness is hard sometimes but as the Bible says if we want God's forgiveness then we ought to forgive each other as Christ has forgiven us. See Christ instead of the person and it will become easier.. It actually works! See then as how God sees us... each time He looks at us He sees His Son, Jesus. So each time you look at the person see Jesus and it will become easier no matter what they do to you to love and forgive.

I can forgive, but never forget, this is what I use to say and it's true.

I forgive readily as we are only punishing ourselves by not doing so though I try to remember them as a lesson for future guidance - siva

If the nature of sins I committed is not as serious? That would be unfair on the part of heavenly father. I gotta let go of a murderer, and therefore, I get forgiven for giving bribes. I don't see how the two can be equated at all. On the other hand, forgiving helps in calming self, and coming to better terms with reality. In turn, it helps to grow better and develop enough to make the person who harms us feel terrible. I noticed one thing though. There are those who should not be forgiven. They keep trying to pull you down. Time we turned around and gave them a dose of their medicine to keep them off our backs. When the lord had those books written, even devil had not evolved such species I presume.

Forgiveness is very important. People need to learn how to give themselves.