Like the teaching to love our enemies rather than despise them and retaliate, much of the teachings of Jesus come with a laundry list of exceptions that Jesus never taught.
Jesus never taught that if you love your enemy in your heart then it's ok to kill them. But many continue to argue that.
There is a natural struggle within us when we let go of long cherished beliefs that are harmful to us or others. So the idea is not to choose the path of least resistance, it's to let go of the things that hold us back. Both spiritually and temporally.
When we let go then we free ourselves of the burdens that impede our growth personally and spiritually.
We must let go of unhealthy or negative mindsets and bad habits that hold us back in life.
Holding on to grudges and denying others our forgiveness cripples us not just those with whom we hold grudges for.
Dr.King said that hate is too great a burden to bear but choosing love over hate, forgiveness over grudges, mercy over cruelty allows us to be free not merely allowing a foe off the hook. Forgiveness frees the victim as well as the victimizer.
Jesus had the option of cursing His crucifiers to damnation but He instead chose to pray to God for their forgiveness.
Jesus was sinless but He was also free in all the ways that we are not. He was free of hate, He was free of vindictiveness, He was free of negativity, He was free of vengeance, He was free of holding grudges. He was truly free.
The idea is to free ourselves of all the negativity that gets in the way of us being like Christ. In this sense holding on holds us back but letting go sets us free.
There are things in life that just don't work for us and by giving up on what doesn't work we may find what does work for us.
Even whith an adulteress that was caught in the act Jesus chose understanding and compassion instead of condemnation which by rights only He could have done. But He chose not to. Because compassion is better, because love is a better answer than hate or condemnation.
Jesus is the judge of us all, our job is to forgive and love God and all His children.
So the question is what is holding us back? And but by bit as we discover what those things are we slowly free ourselves and we allow ourselves and each other to truly grow.