Matthew 18:21-35 reads as follows:
- Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Even when the damage was great? Even when a person is unrepentant? Forgive. Let it go. Move on.
Not an easy task, to forgive from the heart. But necessary, nonetheless.
To clarify, this does not mean "be a sap". It does not mean "allow the person who hurt you to do it again". Case in point: I will never permit the guys who robbed my parents' house on my 20th birthday to enter my home. Does my not allowing them to rob me blind a second time mean that I have not forgiven them? No. It only means that I must take steps to protect myself.
Life is too short to hold grudges. Grudges are painful to all the wrong people anyway. No more pain. No more anger. No more resentment. What is done is done. The past cannot be taken back. Look to the future. Make it better.
To those who may have wronged me: I forgive you.
Please let go.
4 comments:
I understand that we should try to forgive people who wrong us, but in the quote you posted the person asked to be forgiven. That would make it a lot easier. Sigh.
I agree. It is really hard to forgive a person who does not ask for forgiveness. I still get all hot under the collar when I think of the guys who robbed us when I was 20. But I'm working on it.
Maybe in another 16 years, I'll get it right.
When you truly forgive someone you do it for yourself, not for them. It makes your heart and mind feel lighter.
I think that, when you truly forgive someone, you do it for no one. It just sort of evolves and suddenly, it is there. If we are people with the capacity to forgive, it will come eventually.
The problem is that it is unhealthy to one's own psyche to bear ill will. The sooner we are able to forgive, the better.
But it is really hard to rush the process along.
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