For those of you who were wounded by your father, if you have yet to forgive him, chances are you’re carrying around some really toxic emotional waste inside. This is the hazardous material which leads to the prison within, including depression and hopelessness. What is real forgiveness? The decision to release someone from a debt. The lies which come attached to this truth are: forgiving someone is the same thing as telling them that what they did to you is ok; refusing to forgive them will teach them a lesson; getting revenge will heal the pain that they caused me. Forgiveness is for your sake, not the offender. Forgiveness is our only hope to experience freedom and healing from the hurt that others caused. Unforgiveness is like drinking a cup of poison hoping the offender will die. Lastly I go through some specific steps about how the men can use this information for their benefit, including; acknowledging the wounds you received from your father (or whomever), allowing yourself to grieve your woundedness and those broken relationships, write down all the ways your father (or whomever) hurt you AND how it made you feel, pray through each of the hurts on your list telling Abba father that you forgive your offender for these wounds and finally ask that he or she be blessed. The last step is to write a letter to this person telling him/her that you have forgiven them.