Forgiveness Re-cap
Quote from Richard Holloways' book "On forgiveness":
"In our search for the perfect proportionate response to injustice you might imagine Jesus saying ; Don't even bother to work it out, don't start figuring out appropriate responses to injuries you have recieved. You'll just get sucked into a quagmire that will drown you. Move on, let it go, don't let resentment hijack your whole life, forgive, turn the other cheek. Don't let the imperative of revenge steal your future from you"
To re-cap, forgiveness is not just a single punctual act - rather it's a process. You may have to forgive the same person over and over again, especially if the offending person repeats their bad behaviour. Furthermore, once you've forgiven doesn't mean you'll never fall back into anger. In my experience it's almost as if forgiveness is a temporary thing therefore something that we must repeat over and over again as Jesus so rightly said. (70x7)
Forgiveness can bring freedom for the forgiving person but can also turn the offender back from the error of their ways. Forgiveness is liberating for both the forgiven and the forgiver.
Sometimes their is a danger in being too forgiving - sometimes its wiser to adopt a more aggressive stance, using constructive anger to tackle injustice and establish safety if trapped in the cycle of violence. Further more, if the damage done is irrevocable can you still forgive? What is the value of forgiveness if the damage done is irrevocable?
"In our search for the perfect proportionate response to injustice you might imagine Jesus saying ; Don't even bother to work it out, don't start figuring out appropriate responses to injuries you have recieved. You'll just get sucked into a quagmire that will drown you. Move on, let it go, don't let resentment hijack your whole life, forgive, turn the other cheek. Don't let the imperative of revenge steal your future from you"
To re-cap, forgiveness is not just a single punctual act - rather it's a process. You may have to forgive the same person over and over again, especially if the offending person repeats their bad behaviour. Furthermore, once you've forgiven doesn't mean you'll never fall back into anger. In my experience it's almost as if forgiveness is a temporary thing therefore something that we must repeat over and over again as Jesus so rightly said. (70x7)
Forgiveness can bring freedom for the forgiving person but can also turn the offender back from the error of their ways. Forgiveness is liberating for both the forgiven and the forgiver.
Sometimes their is a danger in being too forgiving - sometimes its wiser to adopt a more aggressive stance, using constructive anger to tackle injustice and establish safety if trapped in the cycle of violence. Further more, if the damage done is irrevocable can you still forgive? What is the value of forgiveness if the damage done is irrevocable?