WEBVTT

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- Greetings, this is
Chaplain Mark Hunsinger.

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Back with you for
another encouraging word.

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Last week we talked about
the trap of offenses

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and the goal of not
carrying a lot of offenses

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around with us in our
life journey's rucksack.

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But what do you do when
you do happen to pick up

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one of those offenses?

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When a coworker or a
family member or someone

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speaks a word of anger against you

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or does something that offends you

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and you happen to pick that up.

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And how do you get rid of it?

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The power of forgiveness
is an amazing thing.

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George Washington once said,

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"I will not allow another
person to cause me

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"to destroy my soul by
causing me to hate him."

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For me forgiveness is what I like to call

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the motor oil of life.

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In relationships there's
a lot of moving parts

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just like in an engine.

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And those moving parts cause friction.

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And forgiveness is really what you need

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in that relationship in
order to avoid that friction.

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The lubricants of that forgiveness

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will keep that relationship
running smoothly

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as it should.

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It's because it's not a matter

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of if you're gonna be offended.

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It's not a matter of if
something's gonna happen.

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It's a matter of when, and
we have to move forward

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with forgiveness.

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Forgiveness is really, it's a
I over an E kind of decision.

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Essentially deciding that I'm
not gonna hold that offense

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against you.

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Unlike popular thought,
forgiveness doesn't require

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a warm, fuzzy feeling.

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A lot of people think that
"Man, I gotta feel it."

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Really, it's a decision.

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And the more you decide
to make that decision

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the better off you're gonna be.

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Faith for many people is a huge part

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in moving forward in forgiveness.

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I've seen many individuals
and many families

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over the years set free from
the turmoil of unforgiveness

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when they decide to make that forgiveness.

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When they decide to forgive.

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One of the things that helps
us get out of our own way

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and stop replaying the old
hurt over and over again,

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is when we decide to build some empathy

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towards the person who hurt us.

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Understanding that hurting
people, hurt people.

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And deciding to be the bigger person.

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To walk a mile or maybe two in the shoes

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of the person who hurt us.

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Imaging the pain or the stress

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that lies beneath the surface for them.

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Those kind of thoughts can
spur us towards forgiveness.

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Ultimately remember this,

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you can never hold a grudge,

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because a grudge actually holds you.

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At the end of the day, and
at the end of your life,

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do you wanna be the one
who's known as the accountant

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who has a ledger full of offenses?

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Or do you wanna be the one who's known

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for just letting it go, and forgiving?

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This is Chaplain Mark Hunsinger again.

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Have a great day and God bless.

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