Forgiveness and reconciliation are two very different things, but reconciliation is not possible without forgiveness.

However, if you're not willing to explore why you may be difficult to forgive after infidelity, you'll sabotage the important relationships in your life while continuing to further injure your partner.

I believe there is a great deal of confusion around what it means to forgive. For the sake of our discussion on being forgivable, let me delineate between the two types of forgiveness.

1. The first type I'll refer to as forgiveness. Forgiveness is a personal matter and has little or nothing to do with the other person. It is an internal decision that releases, exonerates, and absolves the other person's hold on you for the wrongs committed against you. This internal forgiveness is a gift you give yourself that frees you to move forward. It frees you from resentments and bitterness, and it has nothing to do with reconciliation.


2. The second type of forgiveness I'll refer to as reconciliation. It is certainly possible to forgive, but not to reconcile with the offending party. In this instance, being forgivable refers to the offending party being safe enough for the offended party to take the risk of reconciliation. While someone may choose to forgive (type 1) another person for the harm done, it does NOT mean they HAVE to reconcile.

This is what I'm referring to when I talk about being forgivable.

Are you safe? Are you someone who has proven to be trustworthy and worth the risk of relationship? Are you willing to make amends with those you've devastated by your actions?

Confusions about forgiveness may be one of the reasons others struggle with forgiving you. Believing the following forgiveness myths will make you very difficult to forgive. For their own sake, the offended party may be able to forgive what you've done, but certain tightly held beliefs about forgiveness can be a deal breaker when it comes to restoring the relationship.

Here are 7 myths about forgiveness which, if practiced, will absolutely complicate the reconciliation process.

7 Myths About Forgiveness

Myth 1: "If I say I'm sorry, you have to forgive me."

Myth 2: "If you truly forgive me then you will trust me."

Myth 3: "If you forgive me then we shouldn't have to talk about it anymore."

It's true that after forgiveness the offended party will no longer need to punish or seek revenge. Yet a key fact the unfaithful spouse often misses is the need of the betrayed spouse to process what has happened. An even deeper truth lies in understanding that processing (i.e. talking about) what happened isn't punishment. If someone has been traumatized, they may choose to forgive, but it will take time and proper support to come to the point where they can understand and accept what has happened. Healing a traumatic wound requires talking about it until the betrayed spouse can through it. If they're grieving, that doesn't mean they haven't forgiven; they really, truly just want to understand. The only reason the injured party keeps talking about the wound isn't because they don't want to be with you, they talk about it because they're trying to understand so that they can be with you. If they can't get to a peaceful place of processing, it's wrong to assume they will ever be able to be with you, the unfaithful spouse, for any reasonable length of time.

Myth 4: "I shouldn't have to admit I'm wrong if they don't admit where they're wrong."

Myth 5: "I deserve to be forgiven."

To believe you deserve to be forgiven mitigates the sacrifice of the wounded party to forgive you and makes you unforgiveable. Forgiveness is a gift, not a right. When we wound another person, what we deserve is the loss of the relationship. We can only hope that we don't get what we deserve and that they extend mercy and grace. Forgiveness may seem easy to give, but forgiveness comes at a great cost to the wounded party.

Myth 6: "I don't deserve to be forgiven, so why even ask?"

That's the point: We don't deserve to be forgiven. Living in self-pity is pathetic. Taking away the other person's choice to forgive is cowardly. To be forgivable you need the courage to let the other person make their own choice about forgiveness. Be willing to accept the mercy and grace another extends to you, if they so choose.

Myth 7: "Forgiveness is a one-time event."

If you believe forgiveness is a one-time event, you'll never be safe to forgive because you'll never respect the efforts and excruciating lengths the other party has to go through to work through everything you've done. Forgiveness is a willingness to live with the consequences of another person's moral failure, but each one of those consequences has to be worked through. If the person who's choosing to forgive is committed to releasing the ongoing pain of what you've done, then appreciate the sacrifices they are making for your sake.

These are just a few of the myths the unfaithful spouse may believe that make it difficult to be truly forgivable after infidelity. If you're grieved about the pain you've caused another person then you'll do the work to be forgivable.

Alternatively, if you fixate and are worried about the potential cost of asking for forgiveness, you won't be very forgivable at all.

If you are struggling with this concept because of shame, defensiveness, or ambivalence, I'd invite you to consider enrolling in one of our Online Courses. Our Hope for Healing course for the unfaithful spouse will not only expand your understanding about forgiveness and reconciliation, but it will create a safe place to heal and let your guard down with those who are safe and can support your recovery.