Okay....
So this time I'm not gonna blog. I want your thoughts now. There's an area of thought/belief that I've never been able to tackle... I don't know quite what I think about it, and so I want your comments with your views/thoughts. The question at hand is this: Can you forgive yourself? Like, is that something that is even a possible or appropriate transaction, or is it only that you can forgive other people and only other people and God that can forgive you? I've known people who do not "believe in" the thinking that you can/should forgive yourself. But yet, we all have things we regret... we all have made mistakes and done wrong. And it's not easy to let go. Personally, I think regret is quite possible the worst feeling ever.
But do we forgive 0urselves? CAN we??
Thoughts please!!!
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I think to a degree it is necessary to be a happy healthy person. I think an even bigger necessity is learning from mistakes and not repeating them. I can't say for sure if it is appropriate or not. But basically, if I walk around not being able to forgive myself for all the mistakes I have made, all I will do is dwell on that.
ReplyDeleteI think that sometimes we may call it an inability to forgive ourselves, when really, it's a misunderstanding of the forgiveness of God. If we really understood just how completely God forgives us, and we've confessed to Him, we are completely forgiven. If the perfect Creator can deem us forgiven, then who are we to still hold ourselves accountable? (Not sure if that makes sense, but it does in my head :)
ReplyDeleteI just finished Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and he shows how we aren't the one's that forgive ourselves, but instead we find forgiveness when we confess sins to one another. His chapter on Confession and Communion was a great help to me on this subject and he can word things much better than I can.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Jules, and I think it's more an understanding of how God has already forgiven us (if we've asked for forgiveness, and repented, then He HAS forgiven us, so we ARE forgiven by the One who matters). When the devil reminds me of who I used to be or things I've done that I'm ashamed of, I stop, take a deep breath and thank God for His forgiveness, and thank Him for how far He's brought me in His grace.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the great feedback!
ReplyDelete