The bounds of forgiveness

How many times do we forgive? You’ve heard the phrase, “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” It’s human nature to hold grudges and remember things to the bitter end, but we are called to be better than that. The Bible tells us that we forgive our transgressors as we have been forgiven, since, as God has gone to such efforts as to forgive every man who would receive him, what does that make those who deny our fellow man forgiveness? One of the most important things to remember is, sin isn’t something that is subjective. To us, there may be some moral or ethical scale by which we classify the seriousness of our transgressors, but to God, all sin warrants the same punishment: death. However, he was merciful enough to mitigate this punishment for those willing to accept His grace. Realizing this, what authority do we have to deny forgiveness to others?

When we hold on to our hurts, our wrongs, we build up a well of negativity and bitterness inside of us. This prevents us from doing what God needs us to do and what we need to do for ourselves. We get caught up in our own destructive cycles, putting our grievances before our purpose, losing sight of what’s important. From a psychological standpoint, forgiveness offers us a chance to accept change, and that’s something humans have the hardest time with. Change takes us away from our comfort zones and familiar routines, most humans being afraid of the unknown will struggle and fight. Reluctance to forgive can also come from the misconception that forgiveness is a weakness, but in reality it is the ultimate strength. There is no greater power than that of letting go and surrendering your bitterness and enmity to God and those who wronged you.