When to Forgive and When to Forget.

Every Christian knows the importance of forgiveness. It is so central to the Christian life that Jesus told us we should forgive seventy times seven. In our forgiving, me must not be foolish. We are to forgive and to forgive again, but we are told over and over in Proverbs-and in Psalms, specifically Psalm 1-that there is a time to forget a person, to disassociate from them. "He who walks with the wise grows wise" (Proverbs 13:20); therefore, it is only logical to say that he who spends time with people who are inconsiderate will become inconsiderate. There are many, many proverbs about the types of people we should avoid; there are so many, in fact, that you should just read the entire book of Proverbs if you want to know more. We become like those we spend time with. We must be quick to forgive, and not be easily offended, but if one of our friends shows a pattern of unrepentant sinful behavior, we must disassociate. We must seek reconciliation and rule out a regretted one-time offense or a misunderstanding, but if our friend is unwilling to recognize their sin, there can be no reconciliation. That is when we need to just walk away.