“We now have neuroscience support for the ancient teachings of Jesus …”
Brain studies are revealing both the negative effects of revenge as well as the positive effects of forgiveness, according to a recent article by James Kimmel, Jr., that appeared in the Wall Street Journal last week, “This Is Your Brain on Revenge.” The author expanded on these thoughts in a podcast on Hidden Brain. Neuroscience research is using scanning technology to study what happens inside the brain when we seek revenge, as well as when we forgive.
He says that a brain bent on revenge “looks very much like your brain on drugs.” In one study, participants were given the opportunity to retaliate against players who had betrayed them in a game; MRIs of these participants revealed activation of the part of the brain involved in habit formation and addiction. In another study, participants who chose to retaliate for noise blasts had MRIs that showed activation of the part of the brain most implicated in pleasure and craving.
Forgiveness shows up in the brain in other ways. In a brain-scan study done at UCLA, “participants who chose to forgive rather than retaliate reduced activity in their brains’ pain network and rewards circuitry, and increased activity in their self-control circuitry.” The study’s title notes, “disregarding unfairness activates self-control circuitry.”
Mr. Kimmel concludes, “This suggests that forgiveness is a freely available wonder drug that reduces – rather than merely covering up – the pain of grievances, eliminates revenge craving and bolsters executive function.”
Christians have known this for centuries. We forgive because Jesus commanded us to forgive – after setting the example, by forgiving us (as captured in the familiar line from the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Yet we appreciate the positive personal effects that flow from forgiveness – release, peace, relief, etc. We know that forgiveness is good for us, even if it can be supremely difficult to do. One could almost say that our Creator hard-wired us to forgive. Now there’s research to back that up.