Forgiveness is a way you seek to help yourself and not others. Here is a collection of some of the best forgiveness quotes and sayings ( with images and pictures) to let you know that if you don’t forgive you hurt yourself.
Famous Forgiveness Quotes & Sayings
- “I forgive myself and set myself free.” – Louise Hay
- “Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.” –Indira Gandhi
- “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” – Alexander Pope
- “Forgiveness is the sweetest revenge. – Isaac Friedmann
- “Forgiveness is the final form of love” – Reinhold Niebuhr
- “What is forgiven is usually well remembered.” – Louis Dudek
- “To Understand everything is to forgive everything” – Buddha
- “We are not all perfect, forgive others as you would want to be forgiven.”
- “Life becomes easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got.”
- “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” – Robert Quillen
- “It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend” – William Blake
- “If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive.” –Mother Teresa
- “Let us forgive each other – only then will we live in peace.” – Leo Tolstoy
- Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them. Bruce Lee
- “What you do not want to be done to yourself, do not do to others.” – Confucius
- “Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace” – Nelson Mandela
- “Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” – Paul Boese
- “It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.” – Maya Angelou
- “Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “Forgiveness is me giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me.” – Anonymous
- “Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much.” – Oscar Wilde
- “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” – Louis B. Smedes
- “The act of forgiveness takes place in our own mind. It really has nothing to do with the other person.” Louise Hay
- “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” ~Mark Twain
- Who is there among us who does not prefer tolerance, respect and forgiveness of our failings to bigotry, disrespect, and resentment? – 14th Dalai Lama
- “We have to remember, when we forgive we’re not doing it just for the other person, we’re doing it for our own good. When we hold on to unforgiveness and we live with grudges in our hearts, all we’re doing is building walls of separation.” ~ Joel Osteen
- “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
- “Never does the human soul appear so strong as when it forgoes revenge and dares forgive an injury.” ~E.H. Chapin
- “Most of us can forgive and forget; we just don’t want the other person to forget that we forgave.” – Ivern Ball
- “To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.”
- “As forgiveness allows love to return to my awareness, I will see a world of peace and safety and joy.”
- “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.”
- “I think we learn the most from imperfect relationships things like forgiveness and compassion.”
- “Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness.”
- “Forgiveness is important in families, especially when there are so many secrets that need to be healed – for the most part, every family’s got them.”
- “Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.” ~William Arthur Ward
- “Some forgive and forget, more forgive and remember, most forgive and remind.”
- “As long as you don’t forgive, who and whatever it is will occupy a rent-free space in your mind.” » Isabelle Holland
- “There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” » Bryant H. McGill
- “Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast.” » Marlene Dietrich
- “Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.”
Love and Forgiveness Quotes
- “You cannot love if you cannot forgive.” ― Kemi Sogunle
- “I had to forgive a person who wasn’t even sorry… that’s strength.”
- “You must forgive me, for I struggled only for you.” ― Emily Brontë
- “Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals.” ― Thomas S. Monson
- “Forgiving them isn’t the hard part, it’s trying to trust them again.”― Unknown
- “Love’s voice reverberates with forgiveness across the room of our heart” ― Munia Khan
- “Before we can forgive one another, we have to understand one another.”― Emma Goldman
- “You’ll never know how strong your heart is until you learn to forgive who broke it.” ― Unknown
- “There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” ― Bryant H. McGill
- “Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast.” ― Marlene Dietrich
- “Forgiveness is a sign that the person who has wronged you means more to you than the wrong they have delt.” ― Ben Greenhalgh
- “To love another human in all of her splendor and imperfect perfection, it is a magnificent task… tremendous and foolish and human.” ― Louise Erdrich
- “Forgiveness is a strange thing. It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies than our friends. It can be hardest of all to forgive people we love. Like all of life’s important coping skills, the ability to forgive and the capacity to let go of resentments most likely take root very early in our lives.” ― Fred Rogers
- “Without forgiveness and love, you will live with resentment, bitterness, malice and strife which result in more pain. You can never love without forgiving. Forgiveness deepens your ability to love and frees you from pain.” ― Kemi Sogunle
Forgiveness Quotes in Relationships, Family, Marriage
- “By having a forgiving attitude, you can change your life and the lives of the people you care about most.”
- “Forgiveness is the best form of love. It takes a strong person to say sorry and an even stronger person to forgive.”
- “When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God’s light shines upon you.” – Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild
- “Sometimes you have to forgive and forget, forgive them for hurting you, and forget they even exist.”- Unknown
- “Appreciate those who love you, help those who need you, forgive those who hurt you, forget those who leave you.”
- “Forgiveness in no way requires that you trust the one you forgive.” – William Paul Young, The Shack
- “Forgiveness is a sign that the person who has wronged you means more to you than the wrong they have dealt.” –Ben Greenhalgh
- “Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”- Corrie ten Boom
- “In baptism, we are brought into the family of God with the promise that He will always forgive us our sins if we ask Him to.”
- “Leading your family will start with repentance. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve laid on my face in the living room while the family was asleep and asked the Lord to forgive me.”
Forgive and Forget Quotes
Most religion, including the Bible doesn’t use the phrase “forgive and forget,” but the implied concept is one of continual forgiveness without holding grudges.
- “Forgive to forget.”
- “Forgive, yes. Forget, never.”
- “Accept what is and forget what was.”
- “If you can’t forgive and forget, pick one.”
- “Forgive and forget, not revenge and regret.”
- “To forgive takes love, to forget takes humility.”
- “Forget your past, forgive yourself and begin again.”
- “Forget what hurt you but never forget what it taught you.”
- “You forgive people because you still want them in your life.”
- “I forgive, but never forget because I never want to be hurt the same way twice.”
- “Forgive and forget. It may not change the past but it gives the future a chance.”
- “Always forgive, but never forget. Learn from your mistakes, but never regret.”
- “Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can be only forgiven, not forgotten.”
- “Forgiving someone is easy, but being able to trust them again is a totally different story.”
- “Do not let the shadows of your past darken the doorstep of your future. Forgive and Forget.”
- “The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.”
- “Forget what hurt you but never forget what it taught you.I don’t forgive people because I’m weak. I forgive them because I’m strong enough to know people make mistakes.”
- “Apologizing does not always mean that you’re wrong and the other person is right. It just means that you value your relationship more than your ego.”
- “Forgive them and forget them. Holding onto anger and bitterness consumes you, not them.”
- “My plan is to forgive and forget. Forgive myself for being stupid and forget you ever even existed.”
- “Everyone makes mistakes. If you can’t forgive others, don’t expect others to forgive you.”
Healing Forgive Yourself Quotes
You cannot travel back in time to fix your mistakes, but you can learn from them and forgive yourself for not knowing better. You forgive yourself for every failure because you are trying to do the right thing.
- “The more you know yourself, the more you forgive yourself.” – Confucius
- “If you cannot forgive yourself, you cannot forgive others.” – D. Muthukrishnan
- “Do as the heavens have done, forget your evil; With them forgive yourself.” – William Shakespare
- “Forgive yourself. Whatever you’re holding onto or carrying around from the past – let it go.” – Mel Robbins
- “If I hadn’t forgiven myself, I wouldn’t be strong enough to love someone this much.” ― Dawn Lanuza
- “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.” – Steve Maraboli
- “Be courageous enough to forgive yourself; never forget to be compassionate to yourself.” ― Debasish Mridha
- “All we have to do is forgive ourselves wholly and completely for ever thinking that we are not good enough!” ― Jodi Aman
- “Forgiving yourself, believing in yourself and choosing to love yourself are the best gifts one could receive.” ― Brittany Burgunder
- “Forgiveness for ourselves and other is one of the main elements in growth. It allows us to free ourselves of the issues that are holding us down.” ― Nanette Mathews
Quotes on Forgiveness and Let Go of the Past
Forgiveness is an act about letting go of the past, understanding and moving on. It’s about taking care of your own mental health and setting yourself free from the past experiences.
- “Forgiveness frees us and allows us to move on.”
- “Forget your past, forgive yourself, and begin again right now.”
- “Forgiving you is my gift to you. Moving on is my gift to myself.”
- “When a deep injury is done to us, we never heal until we forgive.”
- “Don’t ruin a good today by thinking about a bad yesterday. Let it go.”
- “Remember, when you forgive you heal, and when you let go, you grow.”
- “Forgiveness isn’t approving what happened. It’s choosing to rise above it.”
- “Forgiveness is a reflection of loving yourself enough to move on.” –Dr. Steve Maraboli
- “Move on, don’t let the little things in life hold you back. Forget, forgive, and move on.”
- “You can give them another chance, or you can forgive, let go, and give yourself a better chance.”
- “When we allow hate in our hearts, it consumes us. It leaves no room for love. It doesn’t feel good at all. Release it.”
- “Appreciate those who love you, help those who need you, forgive those who hurt you, forget those who leave you.”
- “Forgiveness is a promise, not a feeling. When you forgive other people, you are making a promise never to use their past sins against them.”
Funny and Sarcastic Quotes on Forgiveness
- “Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much.”
- “Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?” – Abraham Lincoln
- “It’s far easier to forgive an enemy after you’ve got even with him.” – Olin Millerà
- “The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.” – Oscar Wilde
- “Everyone says that forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.” – C. S. Lewis
- “Forgiving you means I no longer dwell on what a douche you are. It doesn’t mean you’re no longer a douche.”
Bible Quotes & Verses about Forgiveness
- Psalm 103:12 – “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
- Ephesians 1:7– “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
- John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
- Daniel 9:9 – “The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.”
- Isaiah 43:25 – “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more …”
- Luke 5: 20 – “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’”
- Luke 6:37 – “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
- Matthew 18: 21-22 – “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.’”
- Luke 5: 20 – “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’”
- Luke 6:37 – “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
Inspirational Forgiveness Quotes Images
