A growing body of research reveals that forgiving is healthy. Researchers have discovered that people who forgive others tend to enjoy more health benefits, such as lower blood pressure and reduced stress levels, than those who withhold forgiveness.

While forgiving others may lead to physical, emotional, and mental health benefits, not forgiving others is unhealthy—both physically and spiritually. We know from the Bible that not forgiving others can adversely impact the soul.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his followers, “If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14,15).

Later in the Lord’s ministry, when the apostle Peter inquired about the frequency of forgiving others, Jesus told the parable of the unmerciful servant. In the story, a man who enjoyed the forgiveness of his tremendously large debt refused to cancel the tiny debt someone else owed him. The result? “In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed” (Matthew 18:34).

And then Jesus made this application: “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart” (Matthew 18:35). Withholding forgiveness from others can jeopardize our forgiveness from God.

Despite that grave warning, Christians can still fall into the trap of holding grudges against others, even fellow Christians.

I once knew two women who lived next door to each other and belonged to the same congregation. Wonderful situation, right? Wrong. They admitted that they had not spoken to each other in years. They even acknowledged that they passed each other on the sidewalk, going to and from church, without speaking a word of greeting. An incident in the past led to their stony silence.

God’s will is that those who enjoy the forgiveness of sins from him through faith in Jesus, his Son, extend forgiveness to others. When the Lord’s disciples requested that he teach them how to pray, part of his instruction was this: “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” (Luke 11:4). Forgiveness has a vertical and horizontal dimension. The forgiven forgive others.

The apostle Paul understood that message and relayed it to Christians he served. To the Christians in Ephesus: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (4:32). To the Christians in Colosse: “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (3:13).

God’s people need to hear words like those because Satan despises unity and harmony among God’s people. He does anything he can to drive a wedge between Christians. That is just one tactic in his overall goal of trying to drag everyone to hell with him. God’s people need to hear instructions to forgive others because their sinful natures thrive on feuds and grudges.

But most of all, God’s people need to hear again and again of God’s forgiving love for them. That message encourages the new self within them to forgive others as God has forgiven them.

Oh, before you go, I should let you know that those two women patched things up. And not long after doing that, they stood next to each other one Sunday morning as church greeters.

Forgiving is indeed healthy.

James Pope | FIC Editor

Author: James Pope
Volume 112, Number 08
Issue: August 2025