--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am certain that people never forgive…" description: "\"I am certain that people never forgive because they believe they have an obligation to do it or because someone told them to do it. Forgiveness has to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a07/lewis-b-smedes-4850_believe_i-am-certain-that-people-never-forgive-b_2727062.png" --- # I am certain that people never forgive because they… ![“I am certain that people never forgive because they believe they have an obligation to do it or because someone told them to do it. Forgiveness has to come from inside as a desire of the heart. Wanting to is the steam that pushes the forgiving engine.” quote by Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a07/lewis-b-smedes-4850_believe_i-am-certain-that-people-never-forgive-b_2727062.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a07/lewis-b-smedes-4850_believe_i-am-certain-that-people-never-forgive-b_2727062.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a07/lewis-b-smedes-4850_believe_i-am-certain-that-people-never-forgive-b_2727062.png) > “I am certain that people never forgive because they believe they have an obligation to do it or because someone told them to do it. Forgiveness has to come from inside as a desire of the heart. Wanting to is the steam that pushes the forgiving engine.” [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Forgiveness must arise internally, driven by heartfelt desire, not external pressure. **In simple terms:** Forgiveness is internal. Key Takeaway Cultivate genuine willingness. Themes forgiveness inner motivation heart Mood reflective calm Type spiritual psychological When to use this quote - conflict resolution - personal healing - relationship repair Key Concepts psychology of healing spiritual growth Questions to Reflect On - What inner motives support your forgiveness? - Can you forgive without feeling forced? A Different Perspective External expectations can hinder authentic forgiveness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [Forgiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiving/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Never forgive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-forgive/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“Forgiveness is not mine to give,” Mrs. Saint said. “It belongs to God. And as to whether he will, she will have to wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-lawson-timmer/forgiveness-is-not-mine-to-give-mrs-saint-said-it-belongs-to-god-and/) [Julie Lawson Timmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-lawson-timmer/) > [Spoken forgiveness, no matter how heartfelt, works best when we do not demand the response we want. I mean that when we tell people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/spoken-forgiveness-no-matter-how-heartfelt-works-best-when-we-do-not/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [The Holy Spirit, thank God, often enables people to forgive even though they are not sure how they did it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/the-holy-spirit-thank-god-often-enables-people-to-forgive-even-though/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [When we forgive someone, we do not forget the hurtful act, as if forgetting came along with the forgiveness package, the way strings come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/when-we-forgive-someone-we-do-not-forget-the-hurtful-act-as-if/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [I am overcome by my own amazing sloth...Can you please forgive me and believe that it is really because I want to do something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/i-am-overcome-by-my-own-amazing-sloth-can-you-please-forgive-me-and/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [Someday, you will forget the hurt, the reason you cried and who caused you pain. You will finally realize that the secret of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/someday-you-will-forget-the-hurt-the-reason-you-cried-and-who-caused/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Think big ,have courage to forgive. believe big, have accommodative attitude, act big, have a role model attitude, the result will have far reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/think-big-have-courage-to-forgive-believe-big-have-accommodative/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [“Then maybe Roman will be able to forgive me.” “I believe he will.” Father Andrew glanced at Connor. “Can you forgive yourself?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerrelyn-sparks/then-maybe-roman-will-be-able-to-forgive-me-i-believe-he-will-father/) [Kerrelyn Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerrelyn-sparks/) > [How do you forgive someone when they believe there is nothing to forgive them for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-buckmaster/how-do-you-forgive-someone-when-they-believe-there-is-nothing-to/) [Natasha Buckmaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-buckmaster/) > [There are curveballs that are thrown at you, and you just have to get over it and forgive... if you believe you're perfect, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendra-wilkinson/there-are-curveballs-that-are-thrown-at-you-and-you-just-have-to-get/) [Kendra Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendra-wilkinson/) > [Someday, we'll forget the hurt,the reason we cried and who caused us pain. We will finally realize that the secret of being free is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/someday-we-ll-forget-the-hurt-the-reason-we-cried-and-who-caused-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forgive someone because you believe they are truly sorry, not just because you want to keep them in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/forgive-someone-because-you-believe-they-are-truly-sorry-not-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The wind, as a direct motive power, is wholly inapplicable to a system of machine labour, for during a calm season the whole business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stanley-jevons/the-wind-as-a-direct-motive-power-is-wholly-inapplicable-to-a-system/) [William Stanley Jevons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stanley-jevons/) > [This London City, with all of its houses, palaces, steam-engines, cathedrals, and huge immeasurable traffic an tumult, what is it but a Thought, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/this-london-city-with-all-of-its-houses-palaces-steam-engines/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [There are many points in the history of an invention which the inventor himself is apt to overlook as trifling, but in which posterity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brewster/there-are-many-points-in-the-history-of-an-invention-which-the/) [David Brewster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brewster/) ## More by Lewis B. Smedes > [Nothing is more private than a woman's body; it is her physical, emotional, and moral citadel. She cannot be free at all if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nothing-is-more-private-than-a-woman-s-body-it-is-her-physical/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [...Forgiving is not having to understand. Understanding may come later, in fragments, an insight here and a glimpse there, after forgiving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/forgiving-is-not-having-to-understand-understanding-may-come-later-in/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [The God who has the whole world in his hands has grace for the whole world in his heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/the-god-who-has-the-whole-world-in-his-hands-has-grace-for-the-whole/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Nobody sees reality whole; we all need others to show us the parts of it that they see better than we do. Nobody sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nobody-sees-reality-whole-we-all-need-others-to-show-us-the-parts-of/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [I have discovered that most people who tell me that they cannot forgive a person who wronged them are handicapped by a mistaken understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/i-have-discovered-that-most-people-who-tell-me-that-they-cannot/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Spoken forgiveness, no matter how heartfelt, works best when we do not demand the response we want. I mean that when we tell people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/spoken-forgiveness-no-matter-how-heartfelt-works-best-when-we-do-not/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/forgiving-does-not-erase-the-bitter-past-a-healed-memory-is-not-a/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [We feel properly embarrassed when we are caught doing something that makes us look inept, knuckleheaded, or inappropriate. Maybe the difference is this: we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/we-feel-properly-embarrassed-when-we-are-caught-doing-something-that/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/forgiving-does-not-erase-the-bitter-past-a-healed-memory-is-not-a-2/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [When I feel the joy of receiving a gift my heart nudges me to join creation's ballet, the airy dance of giving and receiving,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/when-i-feel-the-joy-of-receiving-a-gift-my-heart-nudges-me-to-join/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Our sense of fairness tells us that people should pay for the wrong they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/our-sense-of-fairness-tells-us-that-people-should-pay-for-the-wrong/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Gratitude is the best feeling I would ever have, the ultimate joy of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/gratitude-is-the-best-feeling-i-would-ever-have-the-ultimate-joy-of/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [My father was only thirty-one when he died of a heart attack, much too young for a father to die and leave his young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/my-father-was-only-thirty-one-when-he-died-of-a-heart-attack-much-too/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [The only way to heal the pain which will not heal itself is to forgive the person who hurt you. Forgiveness heals the memory's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/the-only-way-to-heal-the-pain-which-will-not-heal-itself-is-to/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [If you cannot free people from their wrongs and see them as the needy people they are, you enslave yourself to your own painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/if-you-cannot-free-people-from-their-wrongs-and-see-them-as-the-needy/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) [Explore all 106 Lewis B. Smedes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. 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