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Values and Manners

Forgiveness

Forgiveness
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 7 to 9
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.4

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    stranglehold, utterly, misery, resentment, better, relationship, pitiful, unforgiving, grudge, spraying, offense, benefits, personally, lasted, prisoner, blame
     content words:    Philip Yancey

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Forgiveness
By Brenda B. Covert 		  
1     How one feels about forgiveness depends on which end of forgiveness one happens to be on. Having made a mistake, one believes in forgiveness and wants to be forgiven. Having been hurt, one often daydreams about revenge, not forgiveness!
 
2     One definition of forgiveness is the benefiting of yourself and others by ceasing to feel resentment toward others. That's a rather complicated definition. Forgiveness is simply the act of excusing a mistake or an offense. Another word for forgiveness is pardon. The opposite of forgiveness is blame, condemnation, or punishment.
 
3     Philip Yancey, an American journalist and author, said, "Sometimes when you say a word like forgiveness, we think it is nice and sweet. It is like spraying perfume, but forgiveness isn't like that. It's hard; it's tough. It is one of the hardest things we ever have to do....even when you forgive someone it is easy to still hurt, to still feel the sting."
 
4     So why forgive if you feel so hurt? It's because unforgiveness will hurt you more than anyone else in the long run. Unforgiving people turn into bitter, unhappy, utterly miserable people who can't stop thinking about how they have been wronged. These miserable people spread their misery to others. They drive away family and friends! What a pitiful way to live!
 
5     There are three compelling reasons to develop the character trait of forgiveness.

Paragraphs 6 to 13:
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