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How to Forgive Ourselves Totally – Chapter 5 Our Twin Sins: Self righteousness, Self Pity
Question: is the difficulty we have in totally forgiving ourselves traceable to a psychological weakness, or is the problem spiritual? I reply: it is both, but it is fundamentally a spiritual issue. The proof that this problem is spiritual at is that Jesus commanded us to forgive and pray for our enemies making this a spiritual requirement for all who would inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5–7). If we have obeyed His command totally to forgive our enemies, we have unfinished business with Him if we have not totally forgiven ourselves.
But I hold that there are psychological issues that should be addressed, so in this chapter I want not to overlook emotional weaknesses even though the problem is ultimately a spiritual one. Why? Because Jesus would not ignore your emotional weaknesses. I want to make it as easy as possible for you to forgive yourself. The same Jesus who commands you to love your enemies also comes to you with infinite compassion and tenderness: He will not break a bruised reed, which I believe you are (Matthew 12:20).
You will recall that our personalities are like tips of an iceberg; we see 10% of the person, but 90%, what we don’t see what which contains the fuller explanation of why we are like we are, is submerged in the sea of our subconscious memories. Because of varying degrees of damaged emotions, some Christians grow more quickly than others, learn more quickly than others, but also, even though all are equally responsible to do so, forgive more quickly than others. This means that some people can forgive themselves more quickly than others. The issue in total forgiveness is ultimately spiritual, yes, but I equally know that our Lord is gracious and knows each of us backward and forward. As I have stated, Dr. Clyde Narramore taught me that “every person is worth understanding.”
How to Forgive Ourselves Totally – Chapter 5 Our Twin Sins: Self righteousness, Self Pity
How to Forgive Ourselves Totally - Chapter 5 Our Twin Sins