Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a part of all people’s lives, and we all have a choice whether or not to exercise that option. There can be a wide array of situations where difficulty varies. Forgiving someone for something minor, like taking a piece of candy is a lot different than forgiving someone for physically hurting you.  In my opinion people need to learn how to forgive no matter how difficult it might be.

In any situation forgiveness is a key role because nothing will be resolved without it. Sometimes it may be next to impossible to forgive someone.  Recently a freshman at Rutgers University committed suicide because a fellow student released an intimate encounter of him live on the internet. This is a situation where forgiveness by the parents of the victim is extremely unlikely. The parents said, “The family is heartbroken beyond words”.  They should forgive the students who broadcast the encounter because they should be able to see both sides and understand it wasn’t intentional.  If they forgive they will honor his memory and hopefully they will be able to move forward with their lives.

Another reason people should pardon is because forgiveness decreases hostility in the world and helps us all move towards peace. For example, in the Christian prayer “The Our Father” there is a verse that states “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who trespass against us”. Even God states that life will be full if forgiveness is achieved. It is not easy, but it is mandated from above.

Forgiveness is an ability that people can develop through various situations. We all will experience times when we need to be forgiven or to forgive. Perhaps the more we practice the better we will get at it. To my way of thinking people need to achieve the ability to forgive.