When we forgive evil we do not excuse it, we do not tolerate it, we do not smother it. We look the evil full in the face, call it what it is, let its horror shock and stun and enrage us, and only then do we forgive it.
Interpretation
Forgiveness does not mean ignoring or accepting evil; it requires confronting and acknowledging its true nature.
This quote emphasizes that true forgiveness is not about dismissing or overlooking the presence of evil acts, but rather about confronting the reality of what has happened. It encourages individuals to fully acknowledge the horror and emotional impact of the wrongdoing before they can genuinely forgive, suggesting that forgiveness involves a deeper understanding and reckoning with the moral complexities of the situation.
In practice
In a speech about healing and reconciliation after conflict.
God is the original, master forgiver. Each time we grope our reluctant way through the minor miracle of forgiving, we are imitating his style. I am not at all sure that any of us would have had imagination enough to see the possibilities in this way to heal the wrongs of this life had he not done it first.
Vengeance is having a videotape planted in your soul that cannot be turned off. It plays the painful scene over and over again inside your mind...And each time it plays you feel the clap of pain again...Forgiving turns off the videotape of pained memory Forgiving sets you free.
Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.
Forgiving is love's toughest work, and love's biggest risk. If you twist it into something it was never meant to be, it can make you a doormat or an insufferable manipulator. Forgiving seems almost unnatural. Our sense of fairness tells us people should pay for the wrong they do. But forgiving is love's power to break nature's rule.
When you give up vengeance, make sure you are not giving up on justice. The line between the two is faint, unsteady, and fine...Vengeance is our own pleasure of seeing someone who hurt us getting it back and then some. Justice, on the other hand, is secure when someone pays a fair penalty for wronging another even if the injured person takes no pleasure in the transaction. Vengeance is personal satisfaction. Justice is moral accounting...Human forgiveness does not do away with human justice.
Forgiving does not usually happen at once. It is a process, sometimes a long one, especially when it comes to wounds gouged deep. And we must expect some lapses...some people seem to manage to finish off forgiving in one swoop of the heart. But when they do, you can bet they are forgiving flesh wounds. Deeper cuts take more time and can use a second coat.
If standard of living is your major objective, quality of life almost never improves, but if quality of life is your number one objective, your standard of living almost always improves.
The trouble is that not enough people have come together with the firm determination to live the things which they say they believe.
Speech has power. Words do not fade. What starts out as a sound, ends in a deed.
Do not put all your eggs in one basket.
Never stop paying attention to things. Never make your mind up finally. Do not hold beliefs.
Honesty with ourselves & others gets us sober, but it is tolerance that keeps us that way.
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