Forgiving someone might be the hardest thing we can do but it’s also one of the best things to do for yourself rather than the person you are forgiving. Here are some of the best forgiveness quotes that might inspire you to forgive people around you.
Self Forgiveness Quotes
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
“The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.”
“Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this. Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.”
“It is important that we forgive ourselves for making mistakes. We need to learn from our errors and move on.”
“True forgiveness is when you can say, ‘Thank you for that experience.’”
“The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.”
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
“Forgiveness has nothing to do with absolving a criminal of his crime. It has everything to do with relieving oneself of the burden of being a victim–letting go of the pain and transforming oneself from victim to survivor.”
“To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.”
“It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.”
“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. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”
“The remedy for life’s broken pieces is not classes, workshops or books. Don’t try to heal the broken pieces. Just forgive.”
“To understand somebody else as a human being, I think, is about as close to real forgiveness as one can get.”
“Beware of the man who does not return your blow: he neither forgives you nor allows you to forgive yourself.”
“Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.”
“It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.”
“Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense.”
“Because forgiveness is like this: a room can be dank because you have closed the windows, you’ve closed the curtains. But the sun is shining outside, and the air is fresh outside. In order to get that fresh air, you have to get up and open the window and draw the curtains apart.”
“Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them.”
“Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.”
“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”
“Inner peace can be reached only when we practice forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past, and is therefore the means for correcting our misperceptions.”
“Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right.”
“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”
“Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on.”
Famous Forgiveness Quotes
“When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God’s light shines upon you.”
“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.”
“Forgive those who have hurt you.”
“Nothing inspires forgiveness quite like revenge.”
“He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need to be forgiven.”
“And you know, when you’ve experienced grace and you feel like you’ve been forgiven, you’re a lot more forgiving of other people. You’re a lot more gracious to others.”
“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.”
“I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note – torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.”
“One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody everything every night before you go to bed.”
“Sins cannot be undone, only forgiven.”
“If there are occasions when my grape turned into a raisin and my joy bell lost its resonance, please forgive me. Charge it to my head and not to my heart.”
“I shall be an autocrat: that’s my trade. And the good Lord will forgive me: that’s his.”
“Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another.”
“To confer dignity, forgive. To express contempt, forget.”
“The ineffable joy of forgiving and being forgiven forms an ecstasy that might well arouse the envy of the gods.”
“Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness.”
“Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure.”
“One forgives to the degree that one loves.”
“Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record.”
“I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.”
“Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different.”
“I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.”
“But if you forgive someone for something they did to you, it doesn’t mean you agree with what they did or believe it was right. Forgiving that person means you have chosen not to dwell on the matter anymore; you have moved on with your life.”
“We don’t forgive people because they deserve it. We forgive them because they need it—because we need it.”
“I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.”