TO FORGIVE IS DIVINE

This is a very popular saying that I think almost every learned person would have heard at least once in a lifetime. This saying goes beyond what forgiveness does to the offender, it also boils down to what forgiveness does to the offended. But just a declaimer before I continue, I like to point out the fact that forgiveness does not mean No consequences for the action taken, it simply means even if the offended is to execute that punishment it’s done in love and not with a grudge or hate. Back to where I was, Forgiveness frees the Offended from the cage of fury the offender put both them and the offended.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

I see offences as traps, Traps that are capable of destroying both the offender and the offended. This is why in Africa where one of the methods of correcting a child is through flogging/beating. It can be misunderstood when such action is done in anger. A lot of parents have made their children hate them for life through such actions, some have even killed their children in the process and spend the rest of their lives regretting it. And this is one thing forgiveness does, it saves us from regret. My mum taught me as a child that she flogs me out of love and not hate, growing up, I learned that to be true.

One time she was flogging my little brother, I could see it in her face that she hated the action, but wanted the result. For her it was a disciplinary measure that suit the offense, and before she flogs she tells us that she forgives us, but must do the needful. And this is so for even the outside world, there are times were you will never even have the opportunity to correct the person or hear them say sorry, but as my mum would say, you don’t forgive for them, you forgive for you.

My mum even told me the story of a lady she knew who was adding weight to the point where it became a concern. Doctors could not find any issue with her and she was referred to a therapist. Turned out she had been holding a grudge against her dad for years, the dad had been so sick, that everyone around wanted him to die and rest in peace, but he wasn't getting either better or worse. It took everything to convince her to forgive her father and the day she finally went to see him and told him she forgave him, he died that night peacefully (he was a very old man). A week later she had lost 50 pounds and that was how she gained her health back. It’s not easy, but to forgive is always divine.

THIS IS MY RESPONSE LADIES ON HIVE CONTEST #250