Forgive... as quickly and thoroughly as... Christ forgave you. - Ephesians 4:32 TM
Some scientists set out to capture a rare species of monkey and bring it back alive and unharmed. To do this they devised a trap; a small jar with a narrow neck into which they placed a handful of nuts. Smelling the nuts, the monkeys reached in to get them. But when they tried to withdraw their hands, they discovered they couldn't get their clenched fists back out. They were trapped; unable to escape, but unwilling to let go!
Sometimes we're just like those monkeys, aren't we? Unable to escape our past but unwilling to let it go! Has somebody mistreated you? Have you said to yourself, "I'll never forget this as long as I live?" Whether you know it or not, you're not holding on to resentment - it's holding on to you. You're trapped! The real victim of resentment is the one who carries it. Are you a carrier? Hate prolonged is just a slow form of suicide.
Do you think the other person is the one who needs forgiveness? Think again. Jesus said, "Forgive...as quickly and as thoroughly as...Christ forgave you" (Eph 4:32 TM). How did Christ forgive you? (a) When you were completely undeserving of it? (b) With no strings attached. (c) With full knowledge that you'd fail Him again.
"What's the answer?" you ask. Forgive and forget! More issues are forgotten than are ever resolved. To forgive is to set a prisoner free - and discover that the prisoner is you!