Several good answers but to me this was the best one in fewest words; by The Rev. Isaac Holt, Jr. (Senior pastor, Royal Missionary Baptist Church, North Charleston, S. C.)
Forgiveness is done as soon as humanly possible by those who know the toxic consequences of not forgiving.
In forgiveness, the benefit if greater for the forgiver than for the forgiven. Forgiveness begins emotional healing. It releases you from the poisonous thoughts of personal revenge and the prison of hatred. ("Hate is a cancer that is capable of destroying the person who hates. Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend." The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - added by Ron)
Forgiveness is not forgetting, neither is it ignoring what was done to you, or washing away the responsibility of the one who hurt you from facing the legal consequences of their action.
It's not even about them, it's about you.
Complete forgiveness takes time, but the sooner you decide it's the best thing to do, the sooner God can begin to heal you.
Some will ask, Why should I let them off the hook? That is precisely the problem; Until you forgive, you stay hooked to them and under control of what they did. You don't forgive someone for their sake; you do it for your sake so you can be free.
Your need to forgive isn't an issue between you and the offender; it's between you and your God.
“Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.” —Buddha
(added by Ron)
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