Friday, January 9, 2009

FORGIVE AND FORGET

An officer took charge in an old office. He found that it was loaded with a huge stock of useless documents. He wrote to the Head Office requesting sanction to destroy the useless papers.

The official reply was received promptly. The order was worded thus, "You are granted permission to destroy the papers in the office, but ensure that before they are disposed of, two copies of each document are prepared. One copy is to be filed in your office and the other is to be duly dispatched to the Head Office." The official order thus defeated the basic purpose of the initial request.

A similar situation arises when we pretend to forgive and forget others' faults half-heartedly. The incidents we try to forget may reappear in our mind with greater intensity and multiply our enmity and ill-feelings to others. We must pray for God's grace to forgive and forget others' actions. Alexander Pope reminds us, "To err is human, to forgive divine."
With God's grace and our sincere efforts, we can forgive others' faults wholeheartedly and forget them for ever.

"If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your father will not forgive the wrongs you have done" {Matthew 6: 14, 15}. Jesus taught us to pray, "Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us" {Matthew 6: 12}. St. Paul advises, "Be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ" {Ephesians 4: 32}.

By Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India.
This is Story No. 24 in this site. Please click ‘Older Post’ at the bottom of this page to read previous stories and click 'Newer Post' at the bottom of this page to read newer stories in this site. Please click on a word in the 'Story Themes' to read stories on that theme.

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