Forgiveness is a funny thing, it warms the heart and cools the sting; even after a good meal one can forgive anybody, even one’s relatives. But the trouble with people forgiving and forgetting is that they keep reminding us they’re doing it; and yet forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the high cost of hatred, and the waste of energy. It has been rightly said that forgiveness is the quality of the heart that forgets the injury and forgives the offender.
But how do we forgive our enemies? How do we turn the other cheek? Especially when somebody has done wrong to us or have hurt someone we care about. We already know that God calls us to forgive others, but with the ways of this world that’s no easy task. And yet there are so many stories of people forgiven. We also know Jesus came so that our sins could be forgiven and perhaps the greatest story of forgiveness is Jesus asking the Heavenly Father to forgive the men who crucified him. Perhaps the profoundest act is to lay down your life for your fellow brother or sister. History is certainly filled with such acts of sacrifice. Possibly forgiveness is the perfume that the trampled flower casts upon the heel that crushes it.
What of the opposites of forgiveness? Hatred, anger, revenge; all negative feelings that fight against forgiveness. And if, as some believe, there is an actual evil spirit behind such thoughts and acts; then by forgiven someone do you not then destroy that evil spirit within them. Once forgiven, what power does it then have. Does not hatred, anger, revenge burn on the fuel of hatred, anger, and revenge? For hatred to thrive it must have hatred in return, as must anger and revenge. When something terrible is done to us, our reaction is to have that same horrible thing done to the perpetrator, or to anybody else for that matter, just so we’re not the only ones going through such pain. And if we do finally get justice, say, through the courts, and the one that did us wrong is locked up, are we truly satisfied with that. Or would we prefer they receive more pain, more punishment, perhaps even death. And isn’t it much easier to forgive an enemy after you get even with them.
We are like beasts when we kill. We are like men when we judge. We are like God when we forgive. Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness. And it is not necessary to place a marker at the grave when we forgive and bury the hatchet. Surely there comes a time in all our lives when we need to put away bitterness and malice and to stop slandering one another. Perhaps that begins by starting out small, with the simple things, like when a fried or family member makes a mistake, don’t rub it in – rub it out.
Forgiveness is more than just a word – it’s an act.
Copyright Peter Jessop © October 2023
