Recently I’ve been grappling with the loftiness of forgiveness.
Alexander Pope famously remarked, “To err is human; to forgive, divine.”
I’m a long way from divinity, and sometimes it’s a stretch for me to forgive. I find I must first release my grievance repeatedly. Forgiveness is more a process than an act. We do not simply decide to exonerate others. Clemency requires more heart than head and a few other ingredients.
Being human, we all cause pain as well as have it inflicted upon us. We’re not always aware that we’ve transgressed and not always gracious when informed of it. There is a need for personal responsibility here. However, our response to unjust injury is critically important because our evolutionary history favors reprisal…
