These forgiveness quotes will inspire you. Forgiveness is the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven.
A collection of motivating, happy, and encouraging forgiveness quotes, forgiveness sayings, and forgiveness proverbs.
Famous Forgiveness Quotes
- “Forgiveness is manifested mercy; it is live in action – not love based on a feeling, but love based on a decision, an intentional choice to obey God.” ~ Joyce Meyer
- “Forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free and realizing you were the prisoner!” ~ Max Lucado
- “When you forgive, you in no way change the past – but you sure do change the future.” ~ Bernard Meltzer
- “Forgiveness doesn’t make the other person right, it makes you free.” ~ Stormie Omartian
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“Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.” ~ Corrie Ten Boom
- “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” ~ C. S. Lewis
- “We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. , Power of forgiveness quotes
- “Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “By far the strongest poison to the human spirit is the inability to forgive oneself or another person. Forgiveness is no longer an option but a necessity for healing.” ~ Caroline Myss
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“We all agree that forgiveness is a beautiful idea until we have to practice it.” ~ C. S. Lewis
- “Those who cannot forgive others break the bridge over which they themselves must pass.” ~ Confucius
- “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
- “Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.” ~ Marianne Williamson
- “Forgiveness does not mean that we suppress anger; forgiveness means that we have asked for a miracle: the ability to see through mistakes that someone has made to the truth that lies in all of our hearts. Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness. Attack thoughts towards others are attack thoughts towards ourselves. The first step in forgiveness is the willingness to forgive.” ~ Marianne Williamson
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“Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.” ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
- “The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.” ~ Marianne Williamson , Healing power of forgiveness quotes
- “When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness. Our enemies would dance with joy if only they knew how they were worrying us, lacerating us, and getting even with us! Our hate is not hurting them at all, but our hate is turning our days and nights into a hellish turmoil.” ~ Dale Carnegie
- “We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies – it is the first law of nature.” ~ Voltaire
- “Whatever our religion, we know that if we really want to love, we must first learn to forgive before anything else.” ~ Mother Teresa
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“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” ~ Lewis B. Smedes
- “When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” ~ Catherine Ponder
- “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” ~ Mark Twain
- “The most miserable prison in the world is the prison we make for ourselves when we refuse to show mercy. Our thoughts become shackled, our emotions are chained, the will is almost paralyzed. But when we show mercy, all of these bonds are broken, and we enter into a joyful liberty that frees us to share God’s love with others.” ~ Warren W. Wiersbe
- “True forgiveness is when you can say, “Thank you for that experience.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
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“He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven.” ~ Thomas Fuller
- “Forgiveness is a sign that the person who has wronged you means more to you than the wrong they have delt.” ~ Ben Greenhalgh
- “Without forgiveness life is governed by… an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.” ~ Roberto Assagioli
- “Forgiveness is God’s invention for coming to terms with a world in which people are unfair to each other and hurt each other deeply. He began by forgiving us. And He invites us all to forgive each other.” ~ Lewis B. Smedes
- “Forgiveness is an inner correction that lightens the heart. It is for our peace of mind first. Being at peace, we will now have peace to give to others, and this is the most permanent and valuable gift we can possibly give.” ~ Gerald Jampolsky
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“You can’t forgive without loving. And I don’t mean sentimentality. I don’t mean much. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say, ‘I forgive. I’m finished with it.'” ~ Maya Angelou
- “There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” ~ Bryant H. McGill
- “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” ~ Ruth Graham
- “Our capacity to make peace with another person and with the world depends very much on our capacity to make peace with ourselves.” ~ Nhat Hanh
- “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” ~ Alexander Pope
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“Forgiveness is taking seriously the awfulness of what has happened when you are treated unfairly. Forgiveness is not pretending that things are other than the way they are.” ~ Desmond Tutu
- “It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.” ~ Maya Angelou
- “Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person’s throat.” ~ William P. Young
- “The more you know yourself, the more you forgive yourself.” ~ Confucius
- “Today I forgive all those who have ever offended me. I give my love to all thirsty hearts, both to those who love me and to those who do not love me.” ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
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“To begin loving people today, we must close the door on the past. And that cannot happen without forgiveness! Forgive those who have hurt you – for your sake, not because they deserve it.” ~ Rick Warren
- “When you are offended at any man’s fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.” ~ Epictetus
- “Forgiveness is the remission of sins. For it is by this that what has been lost, and was found, is saved from being lost again.” ~ Saint Augustine
- “In the presence of God, nothing stands between Him and us – we are forgiven. But we cannot feel His presence if anything is allowed to stand between ourselves and others.” ~ Dag Hammarskjold
- “When you forgive, you must cancel the debt. Do not spend your life paying and collecting debts.” ~ Joyce Meyer
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“The ineffable joy of forgiving and being forgiven forms an ecstasy that might well arouse the envy of the gods.” ~ Elbert Hubbard
- “I firmly believe a great many prayers are not answered because we are not willing to forgive someone.” ~ Dwight L. Moody , Prayer for forgiveness quotes
- “The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions.” ~ Nhat Hanh
- “Forgiveness in no way requires that you trust the one you forgive.” ~ William P. Young
- “Not to forgive is to be imprisoned by the past, by old grievances that do not permit life to proceed with new business.” ~ Lance Morrow
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“You can forgive a fool because he only runs in one direction and doesn’t deceive anybody. It’s the deceivers who make you feel bad.” ~ Charles Bukowski
- “Without forgiveness, there’s no future.” ~ Desmond Tutu
- “Only the brave know how to forgive… a coward never forgave; it is not in his nature.” ~ Laurence Sterne
- “Good to forgive, Best to forget.” ~ Robert Browning
- “Forgiveness is for yourself because it frees you. It lets you out of that prison you put yourself in.” ~ Louise Hay
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“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “Forgiveness is the answer to the child’s dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made clean again.” ~ Dag Hammarskjold
- “And if your friend does evil to you, say to him, ”I forgive you for what you did to me, but how can I forgive you for what you did to yourself?” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
- “Forgiveness is choosing to love. It is the first skill of self-giving love.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
- “You can forgive someone almost anything. But you cannot tolerate everything…We don’t have to tolerate what people do just because we forgive them for doing it. Forgiving heals us personally. To tolerate everything only hurts us all in the long run.” ~ Lewis B. Smedes
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“There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.” ~ Josh Billings
- “It seems that most people need to experience a great deal of suffering before they will relinquish resistance and accept – before they will forgive.” ~ Eckhart Tolle
- “Vengeance is having a videotape planted in your soul that cannot be turned off. It plays the painful scene over and over again inside your mind…And each time it plays you feel the clap of pain again…Forgiving turns off the videotape of pained memory Forgiving sets you free.” ~ Lewis B. Smedes
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“Forgive all who have offended you, not for them, but for yourself.” ~ Harriet Nelson
- “If you can’t forgive and forget, pick one.” ~ Robert Breault
- “People can be more forgiving than you can imagine. But you have to forgive yourself. Let go of what’s bitter and move on.” ~ Bill Cosby
Forgiveness is the act of ending anger at or act of forgiving.
