Tagged: “Barriers to Forgiveness”

The Invisible People and Inherent Worth

Have you ever visited people who are in a maximum-security correctional institution?  After going through many secured doors, there you are with some people who literally never will walk out of those doors.  In one of my visits to such a facility, I sat with 10 men who recently went through a forgiveness program.  I was eager to hear about their experience with it.  They liked it.

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What struck me the most, actually, was not their kind and positive response to the forgiveness program, but instead was their view of who they are to other people. “Once you are in here, you become invisible,” one man asserted.  The others perked up at this point and agreed with the statement.  “We are invisible” was the resounding theme.

It seems that this proclaimed idea was deepened by the forgiveness program, in which each man learned about, and thought deeply about, an important tenet of forgiveness: We are all persons of worth, not because of any bad behavior, but despite this.  Each man learned this and applied it successfully to those who deeply abused them while they were in childhood or adolescence. Those who hurt them have worth despite the cruelty.  This view helped them to forgive and to shed clinical levels of anger, anxiety, and depression.

Despite the encouraging findings of mental health improvement in the men, some people might wonder: Is it possible that the forgiveness program had a negative effect on them?  Here is what I mean: By studying the vital idea of the inherent worth of all people, these men might now become sad or angry that others are not necessarily treating them with this kind of built-in worth.  In other words, might the forgiveness program have accentuated this negative situation for them, leading now to the view that they are “invisible” to others and further to the view that they definitely should not be treated this way?  The contrast between who they truly are as persons (which is persons of worth) and how they are viewed and treated by others might have become more clear because of the forgiveness program. Yet, I do not see this as a negative for the following four reasons.

First, the forgiveness program did not create the awareness that they are “invisible.”  It may have clarified this, but the idea already was in their mind.  I say that because, in relating their stories to me, they shared that they were aware of this reality soon after entering the institution. Second, with the forgiveness program, they learned this: Even if people do not treat them as persons of worth, they now can treat themselves as persons of worth.  Third, they now have the tool, forgiveness, to forgive those who treat them as less worthy than who they really are.  Fourth, those who have learned this lesson of forgiveness can now be supports for one another as they show each other this: We are each valuable; we each have built-in worth.

As one example of extending inherent worth to others, one person said this to me: “I am never getting out of prison.  Yet, I now have a new purpose which is to help my cell mates learn to forgive.”  He developed a new purpose in life after a forgiveness program.  He has made a commitment to easing the pain in others……because he sees that they have inherent worth and are worthy of emotional healing from what they have suffered in the past.

We need to widen our view of those in corrections.  What can we do so that we see their inherent worth?  What can we do to communicate this to them, without the error of extremism by falsely claiming that, because of this worth, they now can be fully trusted outside these walls and should be unconditionally released?  In other words, we do not want to make the philosophical error of equating worth with unmitigated trust and therefore call for the release of all in correctional facilities that actually might keep others safe.

Being “invisible” is hard.  Knowing deep down that one has infinite worth, despite this treatment by others of being ignored, can protect people from the lie that they have no value.  Forgiveness can restore a person’s sense of value even when others look away.

It seems to me that as people age, they have the potential to become more wise.  Yet, why does senseless harm continue for people even when they get older?

You already have hinted at your answer by using the word “potential.”  Having potential does not mean that the person realizes and appropriates more gentleness, mercy, and love.  These need to be consciously chosen, with correct understanding of what these are, and the continual practice of these so that the person grows in greater proficiency of them.  If communities do not emphasize gentleness, mercy, and love, then people may not reflect deeply on them or practice them diligently, thus losing the opportunity for planting these more deeply in families and communities.  Surely, this is a great opportunity lost.  It is time to put gentleness, mercy, and love more consistently on the table for discussion and implementation.

I don’t get the world and the constant quest by those in power to hurt others rather than forgive.  Why is this?

You raise a vital question.  You already have hinted at the answer by using the word “power.”  It seems to me that “power” has become a norm for too many in positions of leadership.  There are at least 2 forms of power: power **for** others and power **over** others.  When there is a norm for dominance and the suppression of humility, then the incessant power **over** others can become a subconscious norm in society.  We need a conscious and deliberate examination of power **over** others with a deep discussion of how mercy, forgiveness, and humility need to break into the norms of societies fo good.  Using power **for** the good of others will create a more just and humane society anywhere in the world, in my opinion.

I find that it is easier to forgive a person only after I first have sought and gotten revenge.  I think it is unhealthy to forgive before I have had my revenge.  What do you think about that?

I think you are confusing what forgiveness actually is.  To forgive is to have mercy on the other.  In sharp contrast is revenge in which you deliberately and severely punish the other.  Revenge is not even justice because revenge is an intemperate (severe) form of the eye-for-an-eye form of giving back to the other what was unfortunately given to you.  If you have sought and completed your intemperate form of justice, then where is the mercy?  Try mercy by itself and then ask for a more accurate form of justice.  I think you will be better off in terms of your own emotional health if you operate in this way.  I think those who hurt you will be better off, too.

I’ve been making an effort to forgive someone who just keeps hurting me. With every new transgression, this person makes me angry again, how can I ever forgive this person?

I get asked this question quite frequently. This is not just you. Please remember that the accumulation of resentment within you may make the hundredth time someone hurts you more painful than the first. This potential for animosity to fester makes forgiveness even more important. Thus, I suggest the following three methods to you:

1) To prevent your resentment from overwhelming you, persevere in your forgiving. Every time this person treats you unfairly and causes you pain, forgive .

2) You will become more adept at forgiving as you practice it repeatedly. Observe how your capacity for forgiveness and your confidence in it are both expanding; you may find that you are able to forgive more quickly and effectively each time.

3) Remind yourself that practicing forgiveness is not something you do in isolation from the other virtues.  As you forgive, ask for justice, and do so after you have forgiven again so that you approach the person with less anger.