Greetings and peace Cheb;
Being blind is a perfect description of anger, because the power to forgive is overlooked; we let our principles get in the way and we choose not to forgive. Maybe I can give a couple of personnel examples about forgiveness, one is really trivial and the outcome of the other made the difference between life and death.
Some years ago I was a window cleaner and a lady stopped me in the street and asked me to clean her windows, she said she would pay me on Friday. I went back and she said sorry come back again next week for the money. This went on for several months and I was going back every week for the money and becoming angrier as time went by. One day I went round and she was unloading a car full of shopping and she was almost laughing when she said I have spent all my money. I used to go home after and be angry with my wife and children because of how I felt.
I became more determined because of the injustice and it was eating away at me, I was scheming all kinds of things, like super gluing her door locks, slashing her car tyres, putting paint striper on her car.
I can’t really explain how the change came; but one day I just said to myself she wants the money more than I do, I will forgive her and not call back on her again and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted the moment I said that to myself.
When I look back it had taken me less than 15 minutes to clean her windows. I must have spent hours of my time in chasing after 15 minutes of work and countless number of hours feeling anger over several months.
My anger had made me blind to all the other good things in my life at the time.
The second instance came about after I had been cleaning an old ladies windows for a couple of years and it took longer to have a drink and a chat with her than it did to clean her windows. One day I called on her and she said if I tell you something will you promise not to tell anyone else. I thought it was going to be a bit of gossip and said yes.
She said she had just started to take some pills and she was going to end her life. I talked with her and listened to her story.
She had worked very hard during her life, her husband ran of with another woman and took most of her money at the time, and her children had used her and left her. Despite that she still managed to have a large house and a comfortable life money wise. She had a lodger at the time and he was a bit short sighted one day he kicked her dog, maybe it was an accident but the dog died in agony over the following month whining and being sick all the time.
She evicted her lodger and could not forgive him; her dog was getting old and she said it was the only thing in her life that had ever loved her for who she was and she had nothing to live for.
We talked for a couple of hours and the thing that seemed to make a difference to her was when I said death is not a problem we all die; but do you want to spend your final time on this Earth a bitter, twisted and angry woman; somehow you have to find it in your heart to forgive this man.
Just before I left I said it is pointless coming back next month to clean your windows, she said come back.
I called the following month and her kitchen had been decorated, she was planning to change the garden around, it was as if nothing had happened and she never mentioned again about giving up on life.
If I had never experienced the power to forgive in the first trivial way, I would not have understood how to help this lady.
If we do wrong then maybe it is our duty to try and ask for forgiveness so that the person we have offended will not store up all this anger in his heart.
On the television some time ago there was a lady who said that she forgave the person who had killed her son in a racially motivated attack with an axe. She said forgiving was the Christian thing to do and I can understand how this would help her live her life despite the murder of her son.
By her actions she has tested the conscience of all the white people in her area who do not hate blacks.
If we cannot forgive and store up anger in our hearts, then maybe God will judge us by this same measure.
Maybe as we learn how to forgive then we can come to some small understanding of how God can be even more forgiving.
in the spirit of seeking peace and reconciliation for all people
Eric
