Tagged: “unforgiveness”
Can one truly forgive if the other person does not repent of the wrongdoing?
Because forgiveness is a moral virtue, it can be practiced whenever the injured person decides to do so. It is similar to all of the other moral virtues. For example, consider the virtue of patience. Must you not be patient until someone does something of which you approve? Of course, the answer is “no” because you can be patient with others whenever you wish. It is the same with forgiving. You can choose to forgive whenever you so choose. Otherwise, you are trapped in unforgiveness, with possible considerable resentment, until another person utters certain words.
“I was hurt in a 5-year relationship and now I am hesitant to get into any other relationship. Does this lack of courage on my part suggest that I have not forgiven the one who hurt me?”
The issue here seems to be one of a lack of trust. You may or may not have forgiven the one with whom you were in a relationship for the 5 years. Even if you have completely forgiven, you still may lack trust and this is not a sign of unforgiveness. It is a sign that you know hurt is possible when you commit to others. Forgiveness can help with taking the risk and at the same time your using common sense in the new relationship, along with sincere acts of trustworthiness by the other, should help to slowly create a trust with the new person.
