admin
Chief Nechombo
FORGIVENESS is a big idea. It takes a person with big ideas to understand and practice forgiveness. If every person on the planet were to have a gigantic mind that practises forgiveness, the world would be both a happy and a peaceful place.
Forgiveness is the answer to individual, family and organisational problems. It is also the panacea to lack of happiness. Forgiveness means; the conscious choice to freely let go the offence of another, despite the magnitude or cost. It can also be defined as; the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offence (American Psychological Association, 2006).
You give up your right as the victim to get back to the offender. The above definitions of forgiveness give us the knowledge of the subject, forgiveness, but not the wisdom of forgiveness. For one to understand the wisdom of forgiveness and become a happy person, there is need to know that: Forgiveness does not mean accepting the wrong doing of another person.
It does not mean that what was done unto you by the perpetrator was OK. Rather, it is an idea of avoiding pain by burying the small past, hence enabling the possibility of a greater future. Simply put, the future is greater than your past. Unknown to most of us, forgiveness incarcerates the victim more than the offender. Lack or failure to forgive kills our dreams, our hearts and our hopes.
An unforgiving heart malnourishes the individual of the nutrients to appreciate life, or give life to others. It becomes a cancer of the soul and if there is delay in detection, it kills viciously. My prayer for everyone reading this write up is to provoke your mind to be able to make the right choice between forgiving and not forgiving.
The wages of an unforgiving heart are that:
It destroys your health
It destroys the family
It destroys resources
It destroys peace in the home
An unforgiving heart harbours anger and hatred, which cause a man to sin. Sin is destructive, and the Bible in Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.”
In “Walking in the Newness of Life”, Dr David Oyedepo says, “Sin is not anybody’s friend; it is a hideous enemy. It is out with subtlety to disappoint people‘s destinies. So, stop it before it stops you, Kill it before it kills you, and eliminate it before it eliminates you.”
Choose forgiveness for your glory to rise. An unforgiving heart will strip you naked of all your honour and dignity. The mind has a choice to forgive or not to forgive. No one is able to choose for another man. To forgive is a personal decision. If a person understands the wisdom of forgiveness, no one will force him to forgive. A man will choose what is good. Who in his right senses would want to experience pain?
An unforgiving heart is the root cause of anger and bitterness. Anger is like drinking poison while expecting the other person to die. If we love ourselves and want peace of mind and happiness, we would rather forgive than to have negative thoughts, feelings which will strip us naked of our honour, dignity and glory.
Choose to forgive and have a stress free mind which enables you to achieve your greatness. Forgiveness is not a weakness but a practice of maturity. It takes wisdom, for one to forgive and cut the chain of hatred and bitterness.
Chief Nechombo (Mr Langton Cikukwa) can be reached at [email protected] and +263733413282.
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu