Quotes about Self-forgiveness

We must ask ourselves whether we have not often been deceiving ourselves with our confession of sin to God, whether we have not rather been confessing our sins to ourselves and also granting ourselves absolution. And is not the reason perhaps for our countless relapses and the feebleness of our Christian obedience to be found precisely in the fact that we are living on self-forgiveness and not a real forgiveness.

Forgiveness is the most powerful thing you can do for yourself. If you can't learn to forgive, you can forget about achieving true success in your life.

I realize today that it is impossible to fight an enemy living in my head. By forgiving myself, I erase the doubts, fears, and frustration that have kept my past in the present. From this day forward, my history will cease to control my destiny. I have forgiven myself. My life has just begun. I will forgive even those who do not ask for forgiveness. I will forgive those who criticize me unjustly. I will forgive myself. I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit.

People who have difficulty forgiving themselves for their past transgressions usually make one of two mistakes: they imagine their wrongdoing as being so big that it outstrips God's power to forgive, or they picture God's forgiveness as being too small to cover them. On either count, they're simply mistaken.

Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on.

It is easier to forgive yourself of a thousand misdeeds than to forgive your enemy of one.

Destructive emotions, such as anger, hatred, and jealousy don't hurt others; they hurt you. They can make your life miserable. They can make you sick. Forgive everyone who ever hurt you—really forgive them—and then forgive yourself. That's all past.

Sip the shame so you won't have to guzzle the regret.

To forgive oneself? No, that doesn't work: we have to be forgiven. But we can only believe this is possible if we ourselves can forgive.

Having asked God for forgiveness, accept release, then truly forgive yourself and turn your back definitely on the matter.

We tend to hold on to resentment because we feel like the nitwit who wronged us doesn't deserve foreignness. Meanwhile, the only person being punished by your resentment is you. Forgiveness is about you deserving peace, not necessarily about others deserving your forgiveness. You are allowing nasty those of nasty things to take up precious space in your mind. If you love yourself, you'll end your own torture and let it go. (239)

Forgiveness is worthless to us emotionally if we can't forgive ourselves.