I'm almost afraid to write an article on this topic because it's almost certainly guaranteed to piss a lot of people off. Particularly those who have a more, shall we say, dogmatic view of the world? However, I think the time is almost ripe for this subject to be called upon and even if I'm not the one to bring it to the top of people's consciousness, at least people should be made aware of it.
The topic is forgiveness. Not just any old type of forgiveness, I'm not just talking about forgiving your little brother for breaking your prize unopened mint condition X-men Wolverine action figure, although that is included in my definition of the word. I'm also talking about forgiving everyone who has ever offended you in any way in your life.
Do you have anger towards specific people who have seemed to deliberately hurt you, seemingly without reason? When you think of this person or these persons do you feel the tightness in your chest often attributed to anger? Do you feel a rage inside you that consumes the life you live? Then I put it to you that the way to feel better is to forgive them.
Forgiveness is not for them. It is for you. In fact, I often say that the best revenge against your enemies is to forgive them. That way they have no idea what you are up to.
But, as I wrote at the top of this article, there's a certain type of fear that I associate with this topic and the fear has nothing to do with forgiveness on a personal scale. No, the type of forgiveness is on a larger and more all encompassing, scale. I'm talking global here, y'all. The type of forgiveness I'm speaking of is forgiveness for all.
OK, here's the scary part. Forgiveness for all means exactly what it sounds like. It means forgiving everybody and everything for everything anyone has ever done at any time, real or imagined. Why is that so frightening to me? Because it means that, yes, Hitler must be forgiven. It means that, yes, Osama Bin Laden must be forgiven. It means that, yes, slavery must be forgiven.
Perhaps you're shouting at me right now, "These people don't deserve forgiveness! They're monsters!" To which I reply once again that while this statement is probably true, forgiving them would not be for them. Forgiveness is a process that works on a personal level, a level that helps the forgiver which in turn has a tendency to help the forgiven. But even if it doesn't help the forgiven, you feel better if you have truly forgiven them.
Forgiveness is an aspect of true love. By true love I mean total, all encompassing and unconditional. That means that not only do you love someone in spite of their flaws but you also love them because of their flaws. It's almost like being a parent or older brother for the entire human race. It's like seeing everyone as a child in the way that you love an infant no matter what they do. The way that God loves us.
In conclusion, if everyone were to forgive everyone for everything, the world would be an entirely different place. It would be a place of peace rather than one of war. However the chances of all the people of the world turning to a more forgiving lifestyle are pretty slim. It's possible if one person does it at a time, though. Show the world what righteousness looks like by living it in your life.
