It has been said that unforgiveness is akin to drinking poison and hoping that the person who has wronged you will die. Sounds like a suicide mission, doesn’t it? A resounding yes! That’s exactly what it is. Sadly, many people hold on to unforgiveness without realizing what they are doing to themselves. Holding on to unforgiveness sets the stage for ultimate self-harm, a slow and painful spiritual, emotional and /or physical sickness and death. A heart filled with hate and unforgiveness becomes bitter and callous over time, robbing one of peace, contentment and good health. Unforgiveness in the heart is like cirrhosis of the liver, causing permanent damage and the inability to function normally.

In Proverbs 4: 23, we are admonished to guard our heart, because all the issues of our lives flow from it. A heart gone bad cannot produce a good life. According to Matthew 7: 18, a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, neither can a bad tree bear good fruit. Everything that we do is a reflection of the condition of our heart. We cannot thrive if our heart is filled with anger, hurt, unforgiveness and other negative emotions.

Studies have shown that harbouring negative emotions such as anger and unforgiveness, among others, disrupts the normal functions of the body, producing excessive amounts of cortisol which weakens the immune system thus inviting diseases such as cancer. In a 2017 United States study called the Behaviour Project, which examined how attitudes and lifestyle affect health, it was found that 60% percent of cancer patients with difficult-to-treat cases, were struggling with unforgiveness.

Wow! Is it really worth it?

Unforgiveness is indeed poison which imprisons and holds you hostage. Forgiveness on the other hand, opens the door to freedom. Choose freedom and live! Release anyone who has wronged you and set yourself free. It’s for you, not for them. If a sinless God can forgive you of your many sins, then you, a sinful being, must forgive others when they have done you wrong. Remember the line from the Lord’s prayer which reads, forgive us our trespasses, as WE FORGIVE those who trespass against us.

Do you want to be forgiven? Then you must forgive! Only then will you be set free. Only then will your soul prosper so that you can be in good health. On this Wellness Wednesday, make this difficult but necessary choice which will save your life.

That’s the bottom line.

See you in the Comments section.

Video Source: YouTube