The Ryan Leak Podcast - The Science of Forgiveness

Episode Date: October 6, 2025

Forgiveness isn’t just a church thing. It’s not just a faith thing. It’s a science thing. In this episode, Ryan Leak unpacks the astounding research from both Eastern and Western medicine on how unforgiveness, bitterness, and resentment impact your physical, emotional, and mental health. From impaired liver function in Chinese medicine to reduced risk of heart disease in Western studies, the evidence is clear: your body keeps the score of what your soul is carrying.Here are a few of the studies mentioned:World Journal of Gastroenterology on liver function and chronic anger: linkJohns Hopkins Medicine on the health benefits of forgiveness: linkJournal of Behavioral Medicine study on forgiveness and mental health: linkMayo Clinic on forgiveness and stress relief: linkBut science can only take you so far. If you’re wondering how to actually forgive, Ryan points to the model and the power found in Jesus Christ. If you’d like to take the next steps in your faith journey or receive prayer, text “Jesus” to 469-809-1201, and Ryan’s team would love to connect with you.And if you want to dive even deeper into this topic, check out Ryan’s full message on forgiveness here: Watch on YouTube

What's going on, my friends? Welcome to the Ryan League podcast where we love to keep things short and sweet. We just want to give you a little something each and every week that you can chew on that we believe is going to add value to your life. Today's episode is no exception. Today, I want to talk to you about the science of forgiveness. The science of forgiveness. And let me just say this right from the get-go. I know forgiveness is not easy.

I know forgiveness, it's not simple. Let me say this. I know that forgiveness is not quick. Yeah, this episode may be short, but forgiveness. Yeah, that can take time. But I will encourage you with this. Today, I am going to encourage you to begin the journey of letting it go. Now, I get it.

People can cross the line. They can cross the line with things that they've said. Maybe they lied about you. Maybe they gossiped about you behind your back. Talked about you in a negative light to your colleagues. or family members or neighbors or maybe they said something in a moment of anger that you will absolutely never forget maybe they made promises to you that they never kept people can cross the line with their actions maybe they betrayed your trust maybe they walked out on you

when you needed them the most. Maybe they took advantage of you when you were the most vulnerable. And I just want to say just in case you never get an apology from them. May you hear from one person in your life, hey, I'm really sorry. I'm really sorry that that happened to you.

I just, I want to help you today. I want to help you make a decision. I want to help you make one of the biggest decisions I think you'll ever make in your entire life. And one of the biggest decisions that you and I can ever make in our entire life is when we decide what we're going to do when people hurt us. And I just, I just don't think people pause long enough

to realize that unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment. It's not neutral. It's active. It's doing damage. And I just want you to know today you got choices. You've got choices. And I know you might be thinking around, well, I didn't, choose to be hurt. They hurt me. And it hurt. You're right. But I do want you to know that you do have a choice to move on. You do have a choice to let it go. I could give you plenty of reasons why you should. I can make the argument that carrying resentment is exhausting. I can make the argument that unforgiveness gives the person who hurt you free rent in your head. I can make the argument that bitterness makes you someone you don't even like being around because sometimes they hurt you so bad

that you turn into this person who's making other people pay for what somebody else did I could go on and on today's episode I want to give you a different angle yeah I've recently been doing some scientific research on forgiveness, bitterness, resentment, and I think it's astounding. One area I looked at is in Eastern medicine. It's interesting. In traditional Chinese medicine, there's this long-held belief that holding on to anger and bitterness directly damages your liver. And science is catching up with that idea. One study found that chronic anger and resentment

were associated with impaired liver function. Isn't that while? It's like your body keeps the score of what your soul is carrying. John Hopkins University found that people who practice forgiveness have lower blood pressure, reduced risk of heart disease, and stronger immune systems. Another study in the Journal of Behavior Medicine showed that forgiveness was linked to reduced anxiety and depression and greater overall life satisfaction. Mayo Clinic reports that forgiveness is directly tied to

healthier relationships, improve mental health, less stress, and even lower mortality rates. essentially male clinic would tell you people who let go of grudges literally live longer the american psychological association has also found that forgiveness interventions get this okay forgiveness interventions these are actual programs where people are taught how to forgive these programs consistently reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety while improving self-esteem. And as I'm looking at all of these studies, I'm thinking to myself, who of us couldn't use a little bit of help in those areas? And so sometimes when we're navigating some of these health challenges, it's like, man, have we ever just paused to consider that maybe, just maybe there's some of, somebody in our life or our career or our neighborhood that we need to forgive.

Because it's having an impact on our overall health. Like when you refuse to forgive, you're not just holding a grudge. You're holding yourself back from health and wholeness. And I think that sometimes when we think about forgiveness, it's like, man, well, maybe you're being weak. It's like, are you sure that forgiveness isn't a strength? My friend, I'm going to encourage you to be the healthiest version of yourself.

And I think the science would tell us the healthiest version of yourself is one that is forgiving. Now, all that research is great. You can look it up yourself if you'd like. But here's the real question. How do you actually forgive someone who hurt you? I mean, science can show us the benefits, but it can't always give us the roadmap.

My friends, that's where I think faith, faith gives us something science cannot. If you're asking me, Ryan, how do you walk in forgiveness? Our friend, look no further than Jesus Christ, son of the living God. I don't know if you're a person of faith or not, but I would just tell you this. ever since I have put my hope and faith in Jesus Christ, which means I believe God sent his one and only son to come to the planet to die for all mankind

so that I could stand in right standing with God, which means I have been given forgiveness. And so as a person that follows Jesus, I believe in Scripture. And the Scriptures tell us that we should forgive as Christ has forgiven us. Even the scriptures would tell you, yeah, forgiveness isn't easy, which is why you need to tap in to a greater power to pull it off. Otherwise, I just don't know how you would. And I live with the belief.

that forgiving people have a responsibility to forgive. It's like if you've been let off the hook, how could you hold someone else onto it? So I don't walk in forgiveness because I'm a nice person or a happy person or because I've got a lot of good things going on. No, no, no, no, no. I walk in forgiveness because I've received it. And believe you me, I've needed it.

time and time again. And so I'm going to encourage you to put your faith in Jesus Christ today. If you are looking for the strength to let it go, I think he's your answer. I think he gives you the opportunity

to walk in forgiveness. And it means you're choosing freedom overboundage. I think the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that Jesus doesn't just ask you to forgive. He gives you the strength to pull it off. And so yeah, I'm going to encourage you to forgive your boss. Forgive your sister, forgive your mom, your ex, your dad, that old friend who ghosted you, that business partner who promised you something and just didn't follow through at all. I'm going to encourage you to forgive the coworker who undercut you to forgive the coach who

didn't believe in you to forgive the teacher who embarrassed you, the church leader who disappointed you, the neighbor who wrongs you. And the reason I'm going to encourage you to do that is because, yes, your body needs it. But more importantly, your soul needs it. your future depends on it. And I think the best place to start is by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. And if you would like help with that, I would love for you to text me. I want you to text the word Jesus to 469809-1-201.

Yeah, if you'd say, hey, Ryan, I'd love to. take a next step in my own spiritual journey of following Jesus. And me and my team would love to put something in your hands to help you walk that out and begin a journey that I think is absolutely life-changing. My team would love to follow up with you, pray for you, and walk alongside you. on this journey of forgiveness. And not just that. I think it's a journey of walking with purpose.

God puts you on a planet for a reason. And I think you should spend your life finding out why he sent you here. Hey, if this episode hit home, we are going to drop a link in the show notes to a full message that I recently gave on forgiveness that I think could really evaluate to. to your life and also will give you some links to some of the research that we talked about on the science of forgiveness. My friends, thank you so much for listening to the Ryan League podcast. If today's episode inspired you, I would encourage you don't keep it to yourself. Share it with a friend.

And hey, it would mean the world. To me, if you take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe, your support helps us reach even more people with these short and sweet nuggets of inspiration. Thanks for being a part of the journey. and I'll see you next time.