Healthy Living

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Often, we don't consider the impact various stresses in our lives have on us. Nor do we always keep in mind the interaction between the body, mind, and spirit. I received a reminder of such interactions last week when I read an article in Reader's Digest called The Power of Forgiving. The author of the article related the effects a lack of forgiveness has on our bodies.

When we hold a grudge against someone, it's as if we're remaining in a perpetual state of anger against the person who wronged us. Our bodies are wired to respond to any tension in a specific way, whether the stress-inducing event be a fire alarm or playing back some anger-causing event in your head. The specific reaction our bodies have is to release the hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which prompts our hearts to accelerate, our breathing to quicken, and our minds to race. Sugar released from bodily stores excites our muscles, and other factors are released into the blood. If the event is brief, the response just described is harmless, but when we hold onto some bitterness or resentment, it's like living perpetually wired up. The hormones intended to help us in times of great peril suddenly change from helpers to toxins. Thus, when he we hold onto some bitterness, we effectively poison ourselves.

The possible effects of that perpetual resentment are manifold. Chronic back pain, elevated blood pressure, heart disease, and insomnia are among the health problems associated with harboring bitter feelings toward someone who has wronged us. Whenever the hurt arises in our minds, it triggers the response described above, perpetuating the detrimental effects on our bodies. By forgiving the person, whether in our hearts or in person, we reverse some of those changes.

This is not to say that if you experience back pain, insomnia, or heart disease, your problems arise from unforgiveness in your heart. Rather, it simply indicates that lack of forgiveness can be extremely detrimental to our bodies as well as our minds and souls. For example, have you ever been around a truly bitter person? Was it pleasant? Probably not and you can also easily spot an embittered person (or they can spot you). To hold onto a feud eats away at the good that lies in our hearts and begins to warp us not only physically, but spiritually, as well. My suggestion, then, to all of you (and to myself) is to think and pray hard concerning whether you're harboring resentment toward anyone. Most likely, you won't have to think hard about it, but a person or persons came quickly to mind as soon as you started reading this entry. But, your very life may depend on forgiving that person who wronged you. Such forgiveness doesn't mean condoning the offense, but a willingness to stop hating the person who committed it.

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." Matthew (6:14)

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