What if one hidden habit is quietly wrecking your health, disrupting your sleep and opening the door to disease?
According to Dr. Don Colbert, it is not diet or exercise alone. It is unforgiveness.
In a recent video, Colbert returns to a foundational truth: grudges are not just spiritual issues; they are medical ones. When a person holds onto bitterness, resentment or offense, the body enters a constant stress response. Cortisol, adrenaline and other stress hormones flood the system and never fully shut off.
That chronic activation takes a toll. Blood pressure rises. Belly fat increases. Sleep becomes restless. The immune system weakens. Inflammation spreads. Over time, the body begins to break down under the weight of unresolved stress. What was meant to protect us in moments of danger becomes a slow, internal attack when it never turns off.
Scripture speaks directly to this. Jesus commands forgiveness without limits, telling His disciples to forgive “seventy times seven” (Matt. 18). He makes it even more direct in Matthew 6:14-15, linking our forgiveness of others to our own. Paul echoes this in Ephesians 4:31-32, calling believers to put away all bitterness, rage and anger and to forgive as God has forgiven us.
This is not a suggestion. It is a command tied to freedom.
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A grudge keeps the past alive in the present. It replays the offense, deepens emotional wounds and strengthens stress patterns in the brain. Many carry these offenses for years, allowing a single moment to shape their health, relationships and spiritual life.
Forgiveness breaks that cycle.
It begins with a decision. Not a feeling. A choice to release the offense and refuse to rehearse it. It means bringing the hurt before God, surrendering the need for personal justice and trusting Him as the true judge. It also means setting healthy boundaries when necessary while still letting go of bitterness.
This kind of forgiveness is not weakness. It is strength. It frees the mind, restores peace and allows the body to come out of survival mode.
Colbert makes it clear: holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to suffer. The damage stays within. But when we forgive, everything shifts. Sleep improves. clarity returns. The body begins to heal.
We are not called to carry offense. We are called to walk in freedom.
When we release the weight of unforgiveness, we step into the peace of God and align our lives with the way He designed us to live.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
