The goal of life is to be happy and it is difficult to experience joy and happiness if our spirit is compromised with anger and resentment. There are four kinds of forgiveness and when you are accomplished with practicing all four, no one person, place or circumstance will have a grip on your life.

Philosopher Myisha Cherry teaches us the right ways to deal with wrongdoing in our lives and the world Sages from Cicero to Oprah have told us that forgiveness requires us to let go of negative emotions and that it has a unique power to heal our wounds. In Failures of Forgiveness, Myisha Cherry argues that these beliefs couldn’t be more wrong—and that the ways we think about and use forgiveness, personally and as a society, can often do more harm than good. She presents a new and healthier understanding of forgiveness—one that will give us a better chance to recover from wrongdoing and move toward “radical repair.” Cherry began exploring forgiveness after some relatives of the victims of the mass shooting at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina, forgave what seemed unforgiveable. She was troubled that many observers appeared to be more inspired by these acts of forgiveness than they were motivated to confront the racial hatred that led to the killings. That is a big mistake, Cherry argues. Forgiveness isn’t magic. We can forgive and still be angry, there can be good reasons not to forgive, and forgiving a wrong without tackling its roots solves nothing. Examining how forgiveness can go wrong in families, between friends, at work, and in the media, politics, and beyond, Cherry addresses forgiveness and race, canceling versus forgiving, self-forgiveness, and more. She takes the burden of forgiveness off those who have been wronged and offers guidance both to those deciding whether and how to forgive and those seeking forgiveness. By showing us how to do forgiveness better, Failures of Forgiveness promises to transform how we deal with wrongdoing in our lives, opening a new path to true healing and reconciliation.

Using the artist's self-portraits as a starting point, the author explains how Rembrandt exemplifies the ability to confront life with passion, honesty, and an uncompromising acceptance of who we are.

Unleash the Healing Power of Forgiveness As imperfect people living in an imperfect world, we eventually confront in nearly every relationship the need to extend or receive forgiveness. But when the wounds run deep, forgiveness doesn’t come easy. This eye-opening study deals with the difficult questions of forgiveness, including How can I forgive when the pain is so great? Does forgiving mean I have to forget the past? and What if I choose not to forgive? As you dig into what the Bible says on this vital topic, you’ll encounter the depths of God’s own mercy and discover how choosing forgiveness can free you from a painful past and propel you toward being all that God intends you to be.

Giving Thanks for a Perfectly Imperfect Life dispels the worldly lie that perfection is (1) attainable or (2) desirable. As a recovering perfectionist, Michele Howe can speak from personal experience how damaging and paralyzing spending one’s life in pursuit of perfection on any plane is to us spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Perfectionists believe they can control their relationships, lives, environments, as well as the people around them—but the Bible teaches us that only God is in control. True safety and inner peace come from submitting ourselves to the loving and sovereign control of God; not from our attempts to manipulate, maneuver, or massage circumstances to our liking. This book will help Christian readers see through the untruths of striving for perfection and find true contentment, rest, and peace by learning to love the imperfect in life as we watch God restore, redeem, and remake our lives according to his purpose and plan. Giving Thanks for a Perfectly Imperfect Life addresses the most common life scenarios that perfectionists attempt to control. Each of the 25 chapters includes A Bible passage A quotation A real-life account An essay focusing on the specific chapter topic A takeaway action thought A prayer Several suggestions for practical steps to offer thanks for our imperfect lives Perfect for women’s small groups and book clubs, it’s a practical book that will help readers find true contentment, rest, and peace in God.

We are often pressed to forgive or in need of forgiveness: Wrongdoing is common. Even after a perpetrator has been taken to court and punished, forgiveness still has a role to play. How should a victim and a perpetrator relate to each other outside the courtroom, and how should others relate to them? Communicating about forgiveness is particularly urgent in cases of civil war and crimes against humanity inside a community where, if there were no forgiveness, the community would fall apart. Forgiveness is governed by social and, in particular, by moral norms. Do those who ask to be forgiven have to fulfil certain conditions for being granted forgiveness? And what does the granting of forgiveness consist in? We may feel like refusing to forgive those perpetrators who have committed the most horrendous crimes. But is such a refusal justified even if they repent their crimes? Could there be a duty for the victim to forgive? Can forgiveness be granted by a third party? Under which conditions may we forgive ourselves? The papers collected in the present volume address all these questions, exploring the practice of forgiveness and its normative constraints. Topics include the ancient Chinese and the Christian traditions of forgiveness, the impact of forgiveness on the moral dignity and self-respect of the victim, self-forgiveness, the narrative of forgiveness as well as the limits of forgiveness. Such limits may arise from the personal, historical, or political conditions of wrongdoing or from the emotional constraints of the victims.

In current debates about coming to terms with individual and collective wrongdoing, the concept of forgiveness has played an important but controversial role. For a long time, the idea was widespread that a forgiving attitude — overcoming feelings of resentment and the desire for revenge — was always virtuous. Recently, however, this idea has been questioned. The contributors to this volume do not take sides for or against forgiveness but rather examine its meaning and function against the backdrop of a more complex understanding of moral repair in a variety of social, circumstantial, and cultural contexts. The book aims to gain a differentiated understanding of the European traditions regarding forgiveness, revenge, and moral repair that have shaped our moral intuitions today whilst also examining examples from other cultural contexts (Asia and Africa, in particular) to explore how different cultural traditions deal with the need for moral repair after wrongdoing.