MW:
How does one come to
a state of forgiveness?
TAMMY FAYE:
It's a choice. You ask
God to help you and then
you just make the
choice. It's not worth
living in unforgiveness.
I have a saying that
forgiveness is the
greatest gift you can
give yourself. And I
gave myself that gift of
forgiveness with the
help of God. I forgave
everyone that hurt me.
Jerry Falwell, Jimmy
Swaggart, I forgave all
those people.
MW:
But can gays people
forgive a man like
Falwell who has
persecuted us so
vehemently?
TAMMY FAYE:
It's a choice, that's
all it is. Forgiveness
is a choice. And it's a
choice you ask God to
help you keep. It
doesn't happen
overnight. Forgiveness
is an ongoing battle.
And sometimes when I see
Jerry Falwell my heart
hurts. But then I say to
God, "God I forgave him,
I gave Jerry Falwell to
you, you take care of
him," and then I'm okay
again. So he's in God's
hands, he's not in Tammy
Faye's hands.
MW:
Clearly forgiveness
is an important
component of your life.
TAMMY FAYE:
Yes. It's the only way
you can have true
happiness because
unforgiveness eats you
up inside. It's like an
acid and it will truly
make you sick. I think
unforgiveness has been
more people's problem
than anything in the
world. Because when you
see somebody you are
angry at, your tummy
tenses up, your blood
pressure goes up, your
fists clench, you go
into a different mode.
And that's not good for
the body. So people
should forgive just to
save themselves.
MW:
Is there anyone you
don't love?
TAMMY FAYE:
No, not really. I love
humanity. I have a heart
for humanity. Ever since
I was a little girl, I
always wanted to help
people.
MW:
What about Osama bin
Laden, you can't
possibly love him.
TAMMY FAYE:
Well, God says I have
to. I don't like what
he's doing at all, but
God says that if we're
going to serve Him, we
love them through the
lord. In our own selves,
it's not possible to
love bin Laden. That's
not possible. I hate --
I detest -- what he is
doing. But knowing that
Jesus would have loved
him, then I need to ask
God to help me love him,
too.
I was reading some articles online while researching the now defunct P.T.L.
(praise the Lord) Club, which was once even more popular than today's The
700 Club (both of which were of the Devil). Yet, I read some things that
Tammy Faye Bakker (1942-2007) said about forgiveness that I think are correct and worthy of
repeating. If you have been hurt by someone, or harbor hatred in your hurt
toward those who have attacked or wronged you, then perhaps you might find a
word of help and comfort in the following words by Tammy Faye. She died of
cancer in 2007...