05/23/2020
The popular answer to this question is, "You, the offended. You're doing it for yourself." While that's true, that may not always be the first practical answer.
To Christians who want to provide solutions to this world's pain, the offended one is NOT the 1st one that must be considered. In the context of forgiveness, life is about sharing God's mercy, compassion, love, community, and accoutability with each other.
As you offend, it's against God. It generates a shock wave to all those around you and sends injury to everyone in your community. On the other hand, as you forgive, you absorb the shock which causes you to cry out to God and transfer it to Him.
You're transformed from a shock repeater to a shock absorber and peace sender. It can stop there. However, when you don't forgive, you become a shock repeater, now part of the problem amplifying the issue and encouraging bitterness, hate, and revenge spreading throughout society affecting communities and connecting with other communities.
It infests as it goes throughout our cities, counties, states, nations, and the whole world. This is why it's about God and the entire community, not just about you.
Forgiveness is primarily to restrain evil in us and in all those around us, to maintain intimacy with God and to preserve the unity and healthy function of society. When you deal with offenses as God prescribes in His Word, it restores agreement between you and God first, and then you and others.