Forgiveness for Good Health (Monday, 11th Week, Year II)

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"To err is HUMAN," as the saying goes, "to forgive is DIVINE." This implies that it's our nature to err, but God's nature to forgive. As beautiful as it may sound, the saying may indirectly mean that forgiveness is not a human trait. Maybe, we shouldn't even bother ourselves trying to forgive wrongs. 

Be that as it may, the saying communicates a much deeper truth than we may ordinarily understand or see. Our depraved human nature is prone to error, but the image in which we are created is an image of a God who is forgiving, relenting of evil, slow to anger and abounding in love.

UNFORGIVENESS which sometimes presents itself as REVENGE never solves any problem. It's nothing but a psychological reaction of a punctured ego. Unforgiveness is an emotional self-incarceration. It brings along with it a baggage of pains and woes: a person with an unforgiving spirit has little or no peace of mind; his/her joy is elusive; he or she puts up a façade of satisfaction; may develop psychosomatic health issues like ulcer and hypertension; and emotionally wears away from inside. 

When Jesus preaches unforgiveness and admonishes us never to bottle up anger and revenge wrongs, He wants us to enjoy fullness of spiritual, emotional and physical health. An eye-for-eye/tooth-for-tooth principle of conflict resolution resolves no conflict, solves no problem but creates more. Outwardly, there may appear to be peace, but inwardly people are at daggers drawn. If we continue to retaliate, repay and revenge all wrongs, the whole world will soon become a world of broken limbs, broken teeth and punctured eyes. I don't think any right thinking person will ever bargain for that. 

Let us begin to relent and forgive, and thus see how far we can go in our collective and individual efforts as we strive to fix a world already marred and wounded by injustice, wickedness, hatred and greed.


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