Forgiveness sets the captive free. What is to be gained by forgiving is freedom from the abuse and abusers. 

1.  Forgiving is not forgetting.

2. Forgiveness is letting go of resentment. You do not heal in order to forgive; you forgive in order to heal.

3. Forgiveness is not seeking revenge.

4. Forgiveness is letting other people off your hook, knowing that they are still on God's hook.

5. Forgiveness is something you do for your sake; it is between yourself and God.

6. Forgiveness is God's way of stopping the cycle of abuse. Some say, "But they hurt me!" And I respond, "They're still hurting you! Forgiving is how you stop the pain!"

7. Forgiveness is agreeing to live with the consequences of another's sin. You pay the price of the evil you forgive.

8. Forgiveness allows God to touch your emotional core. You acknowledge the hurt and the hate in order to forgive from the heart."

9. Forgiveness is a crisis of the will. It is a choice that is only possible by the grace of God.

10. Forgiveness sets the captive free. What is to be gained by forgiving is freedom from the abuse and abusers.