Forgiveness

Here are a few quick thoughts about forgiveness that I am not going to bother putting in sensible order –

Michael Vick, a professional football player, was arrested for dog fighting in 2007. He was charged, tried, found guilty, sentenced, and has served his sentence. What Michael Vick did was despicable, but my 1960’s junior high school civics class says that’s the end of it.

We have a criminal justice system because it is superior to mob justice, which is what society wants in the case of Michael Vick. The man is essentially serving a lifetime sentence because the public will pursue him for the rest of his days. I don’t believe in mob justice, and I don’t believe his crime justifies a lifetime sentence. I won't watch his reality TV show, his football games, or read articles about him, but I don't see the need to pursue him endlessly. Shun him, perhaps, but hound him, no.

Our news media takes great glee when they catch politicians, government officials, celebrities, and most anyone else doing something wrong. (Politician John Edwards) The media are all too willing to run the story for days until their audience becomes bored by the sensational coverage. (SC Governor Mark Sandford) News coverage resembles ancient Rome feeding Christians to the lions in the coliseum for the public’s amusement. (Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich)

We see so many cases of wrongdoing, and so regularly, that our hearts have become hardened. (Televangelist Jim Bakker) The latest person who screws-up isn’t guilty of just his own offenses; we also heap on our cumulative frustration from all the previous screw-ups who were guilty of similar offenses. (Golfer Tiger Woods)

America demands perfection of its public figures and never forgives them when they are proved to be imperfect, even after they’ve been punished for their crimes. We have long memories and we are a hard and unforgiving culture. We’ve been taught to forgive, but we don’t do it. We fear that if we are forgiving and compassionate, it will appear as if we are approving of the bad behavior. We forget that it is possible to be forgiving and compassionate without condoning the evil.


Hate the sin, love the sinner.
Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1948


Let him who is without sin cast the first stone . . .
John 8:7