Forgiveness: Free to Forget

This episode focuses on the transformative power of forgiveness and its importance in living a life of humility and peace. By exploring biblical teachings, personal stories, and practical steps, we emphasize the necessity of releasing grudges to experience true healing and connection with God. 


• The difficulty of giving and receiving forgiveness 
• The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
• Symbolism in Greek
• Connecting Forgiveness and Jubilee 
• Pride vs. Humility in Forgiving 
• Flashback Testimony
• The Process of Forgiveness
• Pause for The Cause: Weekly Challenge

Chapters

• 0:01 Forgiveness
• 1:20 Episode Intro
• 2:20 The Unforgiving Servant
• 4:06 The Power of Forgiveness
• 4:07 The Math Behind 70x7
• 6:24 Parable Breakdown for Forgiveness
• 8:12 Feelings Hinder Forgiveness
• 10:12 Personal Testimony
• 14:15 Practical Application
• 16:24 Pause for The Cause: Weekly Challenge
• 16:55 Outro and Prayer

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the Low Life Show, a space where we have conversations about the struggles of life, where we declare war on pride and walk humbly into renewed living with a surrendered heart. Where we take our past failures and turn them into a roadmap for you to live in peace and living the low life. Whether you're working through personal struggles or simply seeking a fresh perspective, this podcast will inspire and equip you to live low and let God lift you up. I'm your host, dl the Lowlife, a reformed professional dirtbag who's here to tell you that I now live a life of peace, transformed through humility. Join me, let's get low what's good. Welcome back to the Low Life Show. I am DL the Low Life, and today we're talking about something that hits close to home for each and every one of us Forgiveness.

Speaker 1: 1:30

Forgiveness is hard to come by both ways Hard to give and hard to receive. I learned this the hard way myself. That's why I kind of live by. I'd rather ask for permission than for forgiveness. People are just not that forgiving these days. Letting go of what someone did to you, I mean it takes humility. Here's the truth, though when you hold on to unforgiveness, it doesn't hurt them, it only hurts you and it takes away your chance to be forgiven by God. You withhold forgiveness, so does he. Living low means releasing that weight and trusting God to heal your heart. So let's unpack why forgiveness is a game changer and how to start the process.

Speaker 1: 2:20

We begin by looking at the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18. Then Peter came to Jesus and asked Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times, jesus answered. I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him 10,000 bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. At this, the servant fell on his knees before him. Be patient with me. He begged and I will pay back everything. The servant's master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go. But when the servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him Pay back what you owe me, he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him Be patient with me and I will pay it back. But he refused. Instead he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in you wicked servant. He said I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? In his anger, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all that he owed. This is how my Heavenly Father will treat each of you, unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.

Speaker 1: 4:06

Some of you may look at 70 times 7 and think okay, so I've got to give 490 second chances and that's it. What if I told you there was more to it than that? See, in Greek, 70 times 7,. 490 can be explored in the context of symbolism and numeric values of the Greek words themselves. While Greek isn't as deeply emphasized as Hebrew, it still carries significant symbolism. The number 490 in Greek context can be seen in Matthew 18.22 in Jesus' response to forgive 70 times 7. The Greek words directly translate to 70 times 7. The emphasis is not on calculating a limit, but on expressing infinite forgiveness, as seen in the completion or the completeness of the numbers 7 and 70. In Greek numeric symbolism, 7 symbolizes perfection or divine completion. 70 can reflect spiritual authority or judgment, often seen in the Septuagint translation and biblical usage. I mean it's ten times perfection. Together they convey the idea of perfect, boundless, endless, limitless forgiveness from God, mirroring His grace.

Speaker 1: 5:16

In Hebrew there's a little bit more too. There's a connection to Jubilee. In Leviticus 25, the year of Jubilee occurs after seven cycles of seven years totaling 49. That is known as a time of forgiveness, debt cancellation and restoration. Jesus uses this imagery showing that forgiveness is like living in a constant state of Jubilee, complete restoration in relationships paid in full. Furthermore, I mean Jesus is the bread of life. He fulfills the concept of ultimate, unlimited forgiveness. Just the same way bread sustains our physical bodies, forgiveness restores our souls.

Speaker 1: 5:54

When we forgive, we reflect god's endless mercy and his grace towards us. It shows us that in order To live truly fulfilled lives, we absolutely need to be forgiving. We should be seeking to forgive as often and with the same effort as we do for food when we're hungry. All of this can be found in the person of Jesus. Again, get low before him, toss the pride aside and get ready for the ride. Here in this parable, jesus was making it clear If you've been forgiven by God, you've got to extend the same grace to others. Forgive and be forgiven, showing us that when we withhold forgiveness, we can expect God to do the same with us. It's a heavy penalty. On top of that, it's a burden of stress not anybody needs. Some of you may be saying not me, I've never felt better, or it's the best weight loss program I've ever had. By the end of this episode, I hope you'll be singing a different tune.

Speaker 1: 6:58

Now let's get into the importance of forgiveness and why you should be charitable with it rather than stingy. The first thing is unforgiveness holds you down and chains you to the past. When you are unforgiving, you stay in a constant loop of hurt, whether you're conscious of it or not. You relive that moment over and over again for the rest of your life. Pride won't let you release it. Unforgiveness is a terrible thing and a clear indicator that pride has its grip on you. It's that idea that you're in control, pride would have you believe. By not forgiving, it's also protecting you. You're keeping yourself safe from being hurt again Because now it's at the front of your mind and you will be aware of it every time it comes around the corner. You will never get hurt like that again. That couldn't be further from the truth. Why would you want to hold on to pain, as if you cherish it Like a trophy, even though you and I both know you're tired of hurting, tired of suffering? Holding on to bitterness keeps you stuck, but forgiveness it sets you free.

Speaker 1: 7:59

Forgiveness is also more about obedience and not at all about emotion. You don't have to feel ready to forgive, you just have to trust God and take the step. See, one symptom of unforgiveness is emotion. Emotion stems from pride. It's a feeling. It affects your mood. Your mood then affects your decisions. You ever notice how much easier it is to apologize or accept an apology when you're not emotional. Same goes with forgiveness. Get about them. Feelings. You want to be about feelings. Check this out. Go, hit the block, find a corner boy. You can buy feelings. Feelings don't make you any more or less human, regardless of what the world says. Forgiveness is about doing what God calls you to do. It's not about how you feel.

Speaker 1: 8:44

Pride is what makes you hold grudges. Pride is what keeps you from forgiving. Humility releases them. Pride says they don't deserve forgiveness. Humility says neither do I, but God forgave me.

Speaker 1: 8:56

Sometimes it's a grudge against yourself that you hold your pride, saying if only I were stronger back then, or if I were smarter, or if, if, if check this out, if, if was a fifth, we'd all be drunk. Grudges are pointless, especially when anything that you could do to satisfy them would mean active and willing disobedience. Where God's concerned, humility comforts you and says you are only a child. You can't blame yourself. Remember, you can't control everything and be everywhere. If you could, you'd be God and you probably wouldn't be judging or blaming or shaming yourself for something that's not in your control. If you were God, you'd have my gratitude for life. So forgive yourself. If God forgives you, the creator of all things, who are you to withhold forgiveness, even from yourself? Get low and experience release from all that weight you've been carrying for all these years. Remember God's the one that does the work. The only thing required of you is a little bit of humility, just enough to admit that you need his help and a willingness to forgive.

Speaker 1: 10:12

Now, for me, forgiveness has always been one of my biggest struggles. Until God led me on the path of humility, there was no forgiveness at all. You were dead to me, even if I had to make that happen by my own hand. If there was somebody who hurt me in my life, they're cut off and it's on sight every time, but all it did was weigh me down.

Speaker 1: 10:35

Recently, my cousin asked me something that I had not thought about in a while. He asked me if I had forgiven the man who was driving the truck that killed my mom. For those who don't know, my mom was killed walking in a crosswalk by a truck driver who was texting it in a hurry. Her and my dad were clearly in the crosswalk and in a hurry to make the light. Nick Kennedy sped up and hit them, both going about 45 miles an hour. His negligent actions took my mother from this world and they also took my dad with her.

Speaker 1: 11:02

Not physically, he's still here, just different Less him. He hasn't been the same since For a long time. All I wanted to do was find him. And yeah, let's just say I'm not just a creative when it comes to art and media. Anyway, I realized that I hadn't thought about it in a while, so I paused. I did a trigger check, said his name out loud and in my head, no rage, no quickened heartbeat, no rise in my blood pressure. I considered the entire incident. I imagined every single thing that used to get me going. This is how merciful God has been. I found that I am completely unaffected by something that used to fuel me and fill me with rage. It's like as this work he's doing within me.

Speaker 1: 11:49

As it came, it also came with a free forgiveness pass. There were a few things that were unforgivable for me Betrayal lying to my face, and, yes, I would always know when I was being lied to. Sometimes, though, it was just someone I didn't want to hurt, so I'd smile and just know I couldn't trust or rock with that person again, treating my love like a toy that one's a big one. I don't do well guarding it. I feel like love is meant to be shared, not to be withheld just like forgiveness, and the final thing would be anything that left any of my loved ones feeling violated. I mean, this incident here was worse than all of that combined.

Speaker 1: 12:31

And here I am realizing that just how we should be aware of pride sneaking in, forgiveness just crept on in like a ninja, sort of been a trend over the course of this newly reignited walk with God. I mean, if I can be cool with my baby mama after all the crap she pulled taking my kids, then trying to file for all the things alimony, child support only so she could dump them off at her mom's and leave them, that should have me furious. Instead, every time she came around in need, I gave her what I had and did my best to convince her to get back to the kids. Whether she ever got back to them or not, I have no idea. I mean, but I should really, really be pissed, right. I mean, during our divorce her mom filed a report with CPS telling them that I slammed my five-year-old daughter's head through a wall and held my son, who was six at the time, at gunpoint. I'm not angry, my heart just breaks for them.

Speaker 1: 13:19

This person portrays herself as a good Catholic. I mean, I've seen her light the candles and everything that anyone would want to make up. These kinds of lies is beyond me. Probably another route from pride, not to say I'm anywhere near perfect, but there's certain things even a person like me won't do. Anyway, there was zero finding because it was made up. Point is, I've got plenty of people and reasons to be petty. I might even be really good at it, but why?

Speaker 1: 13:45

Complete surrender of life and trusting God is where you forgive and are forgiven. Then you have the opportunity to forget. I'd be a fool to trade the peace and the freedom that comes from that. You may be wondering how do you do that? Maybe you've never done it before. I can't tell you what that big incident, how that came about, but I can tell you how I started to become forgiving about the other things.

Speaker 1: 14:27

You start small. You pray for the person who hurt you, even if it's yourself, even if you don't mean it at first. You just keep on praying and eventually God does the work that he needs to do, soffens your heart in his time. When it comes to yourself, think of it this way God forgives you. Why can't you? If the creator and Lord of all things forgives you, what gives you the right not to Listen? I've been and seen what unforgiveness looks like. It's vile. It'll keep you enslaved to something that you couldn't control forever.

Speaker 1: 15:01

You'll be in your senior years still dwelling on things that happened when you were a child, just ruminating, constantly triggered and overcome with regret, shame, guilt, a need for revenge, singing the shoulda, coulda, wouldas. That's pride talking. Want to know how. I know I come from a proud family and I have seen uncles, cousins, even my dad, holding onto things that happened before I was even born, still hurt from it, still triggered every time. The memory surfaces, keeping every ounce of pain and hurt readily available like they're treasures or ammo. Treasure doesn't hurt you, though, so why wear it like a necklace? That pain is not theirs. It's not yours, so don't keep it as a reminder for it to happen again, because what you end up doing is you end up having your whole life focused on that one incident, and the whole time, pride will be telling you you're trying to protect yourself. Just kill that noise and get low before God and ask for help. If you spend too much time in the past hurts, I guarantee you you're going to miss out on all the present joy and love that surrounds you. Remember the windshield is bigger than the rear view for a reason.

Speaker 1: 16:26

Now it's time to pump our brakes, for our Pause for the Cause weekly challenge. This week, write down one name, one name of a person that you have not given forgiveness to, that you have not forgiven, and pray over that name every day, asking God to help you release the pain and trust Him with the rest. Trust Him, though, completely. If it's ever been a person worth trusting, it's got to be the person of Jesus, right? Just remember, as challenging and as difficult as it is, it's worth it.

Speaker 1: 16:59

Letting go. It frees you to live low and trust God with your healing Healing that you don't even know you need. You literally do nothing, but lean on God for this. Don't overthink and try to plan steps in your own strength. Just ask him for his help and trust Him. Take back your life from pride and live the life God created you to live.

Speaker 1: 17:19

Let's pray, father. We thank you that you are the Creator of all things and that you would mind us silly humans enough to forgive us, that you don't withhold forgiveness from us when we are willing to be open and honest and trusting you. We thank you that you are someone we can trust. We thank you that we can lean on you and that our strength comes in our weakness. Bless the listener. Help them to grow in forgiveness and in trust and closer to you. One more step this week. We love you. We praise you In Jesus' name, amen. Next week we're talking about obedience, how living low means following God's lead, even when it doesn't make sense, even when it's rough. You're not going to want to miss it. Until then, stay low, stay blessed and stay ready for the next episode of the Low Life Show, peace. Outro Music.