Unforgiveness Is Unforgivable

By David Augsburger

            To forgive or not to forgive. That is the question. And when you think of it , why should anyone forgive??? Why shouldn’t the person who has wronged you be made to “make things right” to pay for his sins?? Why shouldn’t he be punished??

            If any conviction about such things comes naturally to all men, it’s the deep-seated universal belief that “somebody’s got to pay.” Forgiveness seems too easy. There should be blood for blood; eye for eye.

            Yes, you can knock out a tooth for a tooth in retaliation, but what repayment can you demand from the one who has broken your home, or betrayed your daughter, or ruined your reputation??

            So, few sins can be paid for, and so very seldom does the victim possess the power or the advantage to demand payment. In most cases, “making things right” is beyond possibility. Repayment is impossible. So here’s where revenge comes in. If you can’t get equal payment or restitution out of the one who’s wronged you, at least you can get revenge. Pay him back in kind, tit for tat. Serve him the same sauce.

            “Get even” with him, if you insist. But remember, to get even you make yourself even with your enemy. You bring yourself down to his level, and below. There is a saying that goes, “Doing an injury puts you below your enemy; revenging an injury makes you even with him; forgiving it sets you above him.”

            Revenge not only lowers you to your enemy’s level; what’s worse it boomerangs. The man who seeks revenge is like the man who shoots himself in order to hit his enemy with the kick of the gun’s recoil. Revenge is the most worthless weapon in the world. It ruins the avenger while more firmly confirming the enemy his wrong. It initiates an endless flight down the bottomless stairway of rancor, reprisals, and ruthless retaliation. Just as repayment is impossible, revenge is impotent.

            What?? No repayment??  No revenge?? But I can have the soul satisfaction of hating that wretch!! Well, yes, you can hate him. You can nurse a grudge until it grows into a full-blown hate, hooves, horns, tail and all. But what do you gain??  In hatred, everybody loses. Hidden hatred can sour a likable lady into a suspicious carper, a warm, understanding man into a caustic cynic.

            What does it cost to incubate hatred?? In addition to corroding a disposition, harbored hatred can elevate blood pressure, upset digestive works, ulcerate a stomach, or bring on a nervous breakdown. And ever heard of a heart coronary??

            Why boil inside?? It’s a form of slow suicide. Get all steamed up with resentment and an explosion is inevitable. And just simmering a grudge or a grievance can have the same results. Do a long, slow burn and you hurt no one but yourself. The person who broods over wrong poisons her own soul,

            Repayment?? Impossible. Revenge?? Impotent. Resentment?? Impractical.