Our Forgiveness Blog
Which Moral Principle Underlies Forgiveness?
Sophia: And which is the most excellent way among civility, respect, and moral love as your basis for forgiving others?
Inez: This one is easy to answer and hard to implement. Moral love encompasses civility and respect in its response and so is the most complete. Civility is the least demanding and also the least complete. I can be civil and rather detached from a person. I can even be civil without respecting the person. Even respect does not go far enough. I can respect a person who is homeless by writing out a check to the soup kitchen. That is a somewhat detached way to treat someone who is deeply suffering. Yet, if I love another, I not only must be civil and respectful, I must be more than that. In the soup-kitchen example, I must be personal with the homeless person by going to the shelter, dipping the ladle into the soup, and serving that person. Moral love asks the most of me.
Sophia: How then do you understand moral love?
Inez: It is different from romantic love or brotherly love or the natural love between a mother and her child. It is the kind of love that “goes to the wall” for the other by being in service to him or her without burning yourself out, of course. That would hardly be love if I destroyed myself in the process. I think it is a paradox. As I become personal with another for her good, I can and do experience a kind of refreshment.
Enright, Robert D. (2012-07-05). The Forgiving Life (APA Lifetools) (Kindle Locations 1789-1801). American Psychological Association. Kindle Edition.
Dr. Bob
Why Forgive?
Here are some reasons to forgive:
1) so that I will feel better.
2) so that the other person, in seeing mercy in me, might change course and start having mercy.
3) so that the one who offended me and I might reconcile.
4) so that I might be an example for others.
5) so that I can grow in the virtue of forgiving and become a forgiving person.
6) so that I can get proficient enough in this virtue to be able to pass it along to others.
7) just because. Extending goodness is good in and of itself.
Of all of these reasons, #7 shows the intrinsic beauty of forgiveness. All others also are honorable because they recognize the importance of persons and of relationships. Even #1 is a good reason and is not self-serving if I am trying to get better so that I can give goodness to others and not just to the self.
Which of the seven reasons describes you the best?
For more reasons why forgiveness is the right thing to do physically, spiritually and socially, visit the Why Forgive section of this website.
Dr. Bob
Do You Want to Become a Forgiving Person?
Part of being a forgiving person is to know the forgiveness process and to practice it. As you understand that process more and more and become comfortable with it, you will find that this is a good beginning to being a forgiving person. At the same time, practice and feeling comfortable with this practice is not enough to transform yourself into a genuinely forgiving person. You will need to begin to foster a sense of deep connection with forgiveness. As an analogy, people can spend their whole lives working at a job or a profession but not really connect in a deep way with it. “I am someone who goes into nursing homes, does what I am told, and gets a paycheck,” is one way to see oneself. “I am someone who serves the elderly. That is not just what I do. It is a part of who I am.” This thought is much deeper than the first one. Can you begin practicing forgiveness regularly and deeply enough so that it becomes a part of you?
Enright, Robert D. (2012-07-05). The Forgiving Life (APA Lifetools) (Kindle Locations 1534-1542). American Psychological Association. Kindle Edition.
Extending the Love of Forgiveness in New Directions
As we practice the love of forgiveness, don’t be surprised if that love spills over into other areas of your life. Here is one heart warming story that a friend, who practices forgiveness daily, told to me:
“When I was riding my bike yesterday, a homeless woman was pushing a shopping cart that contained, in all likelihood, all of her worldly possessions. I stopped and said, ‘Excuse me…’ She looked afraid and startled, which is typical in the homeless world because people usually hurt them rather than help them. Then I said to her, ‘Would you please do me a favor and hold this for me?’ I then put a $20 bill in her hand. She looked at the money and started to laugh….and then I laughed. And she thanked me and had very soft eyes toward me. I then continued the ride…..with a warmer heart than when I started out.”
Dr. Bob
You Forgive and the Other Denies Wrongdoing: Now What?
In a recent story in our Forgiveness News section, “Forgiving Muammar Gaddafi for the Lockerbie Bombing,” we reported on Lisa Gibson, whose brother died in the Lockerbie, Scotland airplane bombing (Pan Am 103). She attempted to forgive both Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, the only one convicted in the case, and Muammar Gaddafi, suspected to have masterminded the plot.
Both denied any connection with the bombing. Now what? How should Lisa Gibson deal with the forgiveness? Does she withdraw the attempt until at least one of them admits to wrongdoing of some kind, either planning or carrying out the deed? Does she go ahead anyway?
What should you do when you are about to forgive someone who denies any wrongdoing?
It seems to us that the first step is to take a little step backward and ask: Am I correct here in thinking that this person (or people) acted unjustly toward me? Of course, one need not have the kind of evidence required by a court of law because you are not being the judge over this person. You are not sentencing him or her to prison.
If, upon further reflection, you conclude that the person was unjust to you, then we recommend that you go ahead anyway, despite any howls of opposition from the person. Further, you need not tell him or her that you have forgiven. You can do so from the heart and then demonstrate your forgiveness by how you interact with or talk about the person.
The bottom line is this: You should not be held captive by another’s denial of wrongdoing. If your reflection leads you to conclude that he or she was unjust to you, then go ahead. Forgiveness is about freedom, including the freedom to make your own decisions about whom and when to forgive.
Dr. Bob
