Forgiveness BOOK REVIEW

I recently finished a very engaging book, TOTAL FORGIVENESS by R.T. Kendall. Kendall argues that much of the discomfort of our lives is caused by our unwillingness to TOTALLY forgive another person. His argument is strong.

When we fail to forgive we usually are only hurting ourselves. Kendall says 90% of the time the other person doesn't even feel they did anything wrong. Consequently we think we are punishing them but in truth we are the only ones suffering.

Kendall says total forgiveness means

1. We don't talk to others about the offense (because it is a subtle way of trying to exact punishment on the other)
2. We relate to the person as if the offense has not happened
3. We leave the offense with the Lord
4. We pray for God's rich blessing on the one who hurt us (perhaps the hardest part of total forgiveness).

Here's a quote:

It may be far easier to forgive when we know that those who maligned or betrayed us are sorry for what they did, but if I must have this knowledge before I can forgive, I may never have the victory over my bitterness.

I'm currently reading Kendall's follow up book: "How to Forgive Yourself". I commend both books as helpful and Biblical approaches to this tough subject.