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By Mallory Mattingly
New York Knicks forward Trey Jemison recently explored how holding onto unforgiveness only causes further pain.
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,” he began a recent Instagram video, quoting Matthew 6:14-15. “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Jemison then shared an analogy using a toy axe. He had viewers imagine the axe was a knife he latched onto and wouldn’t let go of.
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“If I were still holding the knife, I wouldn’t be able to heal, I wouldn’t be able to move on. The blood will continue to flow because what cut me is still in the wound,” he explained. “And this is how we are dealing with unforgiveness in our lives. Not everybody, but a lot of people. I have done this before, and what God’s telling us to do is let go. He won’t take it from us.”
“See, what God has taught me about forgiveness is that forgiveness isn’t about the person. Forgiveness is about yourself. Forgiveness is so that you can heal, so that you can move on,” the forward continued. “Yeah, that person did you wrong. That person did you dirty. They forgot all about it, and they kept on going about their day.”
“But you’re holding on to what they said, what they did to you, and instead of moving on and continuing to grow from it, you’re letting that wound sit there and grow even deeper and grow even deeper,” he explained. “You’re praying to God, ‘God, I want to forget what they did,’ but you ain’t never let it go.”
Jemison shared that through prayer, a person can release the hurt someone else has caused. He then discussed another lesson in the realm of forgiveness that God has taught him.
“What God has also taught me, though, is that after you’ve released it, you can’t go back and pick at the scab,” Jemison urged. “If you pick at the scab, you’ll never heal, just like unforgiveness. Yeah, you’ve forgiven them, but it isn’t a one-time thing. It’s a continual choice. When you see them again, don’t hold a grudge with them. Don’t hold it over their head. You ain’t gotta be their best friend. You ain’t gotta go be all lovey dovey.”
“Forgiveness isn’t a choice; it’s a command. God is telling us we have to forgive because He forgave us,” he added.
Ultimately, Jemison emphasizes that true healing comes through choosing to let go of the grudges we hold against others, trusting God to help you release the hurt and move forward in freedom.
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