Forgiveness is a life skill that is extremely important to father God. It says in Matthew 6:15 that if you don’t forgive others of their sins, neither will father God forgive you. If we have spiritual ears, we hear the clanging of the chains that bind us when we don’t forgive.
These chains not only bind us, they keep us from hearing and being close to God and others. Unforgiveness turns our hearts cold and hard towards others. Unforgiveness causes our minds, bodies and souls to be filled with bitterness. Unforgiven is the precursor to many illnesses. Unforgiveness paralyzes our attempts to obey God. Unforgiveness pushes others away from us and increases loneliness and isolation. Unforgiveness leads to negative speech about ourselves and others, which eventually causes us to curse ourselves by our own behavior and speech.
Unforgiveness leads us down a path of auto destruction of healthy relationships. Unforgiveness leads us into a critical spirit, which promotes the fruit of darkness. Unforgiveness destroys our prayer life, because we cannot grow in love and humility towards God. Unforgiveness takes us down the road to hell. Unforgiveness is the devil‘s delight because it is one of his main weapons.
Forgiveness is a decision to forgive. To forgive his human, but to forget is a divine act of God. Unforgiveness leads to the debris of mistrust. We can still decide to forgive a person but not trust them. On the other hand, forgiveness brings peace, joy and the other gifts of the spirit. Forgiveness is the key that allows us to be mature in Christ. Forgiveness allows us to be fruitful in loving others. We can see from the above how essential forgiveness is in our walk with God and in our relationship with others.
(Michael Carr, October 5, 2026)
