Why We Shouldn’t Forgive Everything And Everyone

Let’s not have a lot of red lines but be true to the ones we have

Image by Pete Linforth

Forgiveness is too vast and complex a concept to explain away in five hundred words. Luckily, I have no intention of explaining anything to anybody. Instead, I’ll simply note some ideas I’ve had on the matter, which will hopefully inspire the reader to think much better thoughts.

Confusing Forgiveness

I have often struggled to understand forgiveness. Sometimes, it felt so easy and commonsensical. Others, I couldn’t believe someone could expect me to forgive them — it would feel as unnatural as not eating when hungry and in the presence of food. Then, time would also exert its influence, what seemed so grievous a few months before didn’t anymore; conversely, actions that had appeared rather normal back then now I could deem as highly approachable.

It’s Personal

Indeed, I didn’t quite grasp forgiveness until I noticed its relative nature. Most of us have grown in cultures where forgiveness has been universalised — that is, we have been raised with an established notion of what is forgivable and what isn’t. However, forgiveness is an essentially personal matter. Telling someone to forgive someone else implies such a level of comprehension of the feelings…