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Pain affects your body after an injury. Then comes the shock, striking your emotions. If you are a Christian, you might also carry a deep spiritual burden, wondering, “Can I forgive and still file a claim? Does suing someone show a lack of faith?”
Those questions are valid. They touch your relationship with God, your church community, and your sense of right and wrong. You deserve thoughtful, truthful answers that honor both your faith and your pain.
Forgiveness Lives in Your Heart
Jesus urges people to forgive those who hurt them. Forgiveness clears the heart of anger and bitterness. It says, “I will not hold this wrong against this person and seek retribution.”
Forgiveness does not pretend the harm never happened. It does not erase medical bills, chronic pain, or the trauma of an accident. It does not justify reckless decisions that endanger others.
You can forgive a driver, property owner, or company and also say, “This caused real harm, and that harm needs to be addressed.” Forgiveness lives in your heart.
Legal Action Creates Accountability
A personal injury claim does something different. Legal action asks hard questions about responsibility. Who ran the red light? Who ignored the safety rule? Who chose profits over basic care?
Courts and claims exist to create order when someone’s unsafe choices hurt another person. A claim does not say, “I want revenge.” A claim says, “Actions have consequences, and those consequences should not fall on the injured person alone.” Many times the person or company that caused the injury would like to pay what is reasonable for accountability but because they have purchased insurance to stand in their place and cover the amount of their responsibility, they are prevented from doing so by the insurance company.
Some believers worry that filing a claim looks like revenge. Intention sets the two apart. Revenge looks for payback and wants the other person to hurt. Accountability seeks truth, protection for others, and restoration for the injured person.
Compensation Supports Real-World Healing
Serious injuries touch every part of life. Medical appointments crowd your calendar. Bills stack on the counter. Lost income creates anxiety around rent, groceries, and your kids’ needs.
Compensation does not erase the event, but it gives you tools to rebuild. Settlement money can cover surgery, physical therapy, counseling, and ongoing medication. It can replace lost wages so you can rest and recover instead of rushing back to work too soon.
You can treat a claim as part of how you steward what God placed in your care. Your health, your family, and your future matter to Him, so they should matter in your decisions. When you pursue fair compensation, you guard your household, pay for the care you need, and honor the life God entrusted you to live.
Faith, Guilt, and Outside Opinions
Believers sometimes face pressure from family, friends, and even people at church. Someone may say, “Christians just let things go,” or, “If you trusted God more, you wouldn’t need a lawyer.” Comments like that cut deep when pain, questions, and worries already sit heavy on your heart.
You can trust God and still use the legal tools available to you. Scripture shows stories where people appealed to laws, leaders, and courts for protection and fairness. Prayer and legal wisdom can work together. You can ask God for guidance at every step while you also gather evidence, talk with doctors, and pursue a claim. If your house burns down, would you file a claim for your damages against the insurance company covering your house. Filing a claim for a tort is no different when you are filing a claim against the insurance company for the responsible party. This is what attorneys do.
You can forgive this person or this company and hold no ill will toward them whatsoever and also choose to protect your family and your future through legal representation to handle filing the claim and if necessary, the suit seeking to collect reasonable compensation from the insurance company. Can you forgive someone who murders a loved one but still testify against them and ask the judge for a fair sentence?
Holding Grace and Justice at the Same Time
Grace and justice can live side by side. You can pray for the person who harmed you and still hold them and their insurance company responsible. You can release resentment and still expect them, or their insurer, to cover the harm their choices caused.
Your faith does not require you to carry every financial and physical consequence alone. Forgiveness guards your heart. Legal action guards your future. Both matter.
How Chatham Gilder Howell Pittman Can Help
At Chatham Gilder Howell Pittman, our personal injury lawyers respect your faith and your desire to honor God in every decision. We listen to your story, answer questions without judgment, and help you sort through the difference between grace and accountability. We walk with you through the legal process so you can focus on healing in every sense of the word. Contact us today.
