Read Matthew 18:21-35 with your family.

You might have heard people tell you to “forgive and forget”. A lot of people think those are Jesus’ words or they are from somewhere else in the Bible, but they are not. All the Bible says is to forgive as often as you have to.

Forgiveness is hard. Sometimes you can do it once and everything is fine. But sometimes the hurt is deeper and you don’t know if you can ever forgive the person. Jesus says to keep trying.

And sometimes the hurt is bad enough you need to tell another grown up and keep telling until someone believes you and wants to help. Forgiving someone doesn’t mean they don’t have consequences. Forgiving someone only means you are letting go of your anger and hurt feelings. It’s still up to the other person to do the right thing and take responsibility.