Forgiving 1

Jesus tells the story of a man who owes millions of dollars. He begs for mercy and is forgiven. He then throws another man in jail for owing him several thousand dollars. The story serves as a entry point for understanding our situation before God. Jesus is clear, if you do not forgive others then God will not forgive you.

Forgiveness is often depicted as forgiving a debt. I prefer debt thinking to sin thinking when talking about God. A sin is literally a failure to hit the mark. It generally is thought of in terms of a decision to do a bad thing. It is, therefore, incomplete in understanding our relationship with God. We owe a debt for our sins. However, we also owe a debt for everything. EVERYTHING.

Our bodies. Our souls. Our minds. Our family. Our friends. The planet. Everything on it... You get the drift. We are in total debt to God and there is nothing we can do to pay it back. SO the only sin we need to look at is ingratitude. If we owe God thanks for every second and everything then we are already infinitely in debt. Add to that the wrongs we do...

Most people I encounter have a radically undeveloped sense of sin and guilt. They really do not believe that they have done that much wrong. (or at least this is what they articulate to me) That lack of insight is one reason why they find forgiveness so difficult. When you think you are righteous the sins of others offend more deeply.

Another thing most of us suffer from is high expectations, or entitlement. We assume we should have the best (or at least good) and find it hard to be greatful for what we have. We expect it. When you assume you are due the best, the failure of others is especially noxious. Hence, again,  hard to forgive (especially when coupled with the belief that we are generous and helpful).

So the beginning of mercy is a radical understanding of our indebtedness. This is certainly the work of prayer and meditation. I think I wrote about this during Lent, the value of simply listing things which you are glad to  have (or not to have) and thanking God. A deep sense of grattitude coupled with taking stock of how deeply in debt we are to God for all things certainly provides a rich environment for seeing other folks with a gentle spirit. I think that may be at the heart of Jesus' messge on forgiveness.