In my most recent post I suggested that true followers of Christ ought to forgive "evil" people like Ben Roethlesberger and Michael Vick and even people like King Mannasseh from the book of 2 Kings, chapter 21 in the Bible. King Mannasseh even sacrificed his own son! One of the reasons we are to forgive is because Christ forgave us. I would like to suggest an additional reason.
Our hearts are capable of the same evil as their hearts are or were.
Am I suggesting that you would start a dog-fighting ring and abuse innocent dogs, or sexually abuse someone? I am not suggesting you or I "would", but I am suggesting that, given the right circumstances we each "could" do something of that nature. In other words, our hearts have the same capacity of evil as anyone else. Just because we don't do certain things, does not mean we are better. The biblical notion of humanity's sin is not that certain actions make us sinful. Instead, our sinful actions only illustrate an inward reality and capacity that is always there. This inward reality and capacity is what makes us sinful, not our actions.
Furthermore, sin is degenerative. In other words, similar to the notion that "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." It can be said that "sin corrupts and any sin corrupts absolutley." Sin has a systemic and destructive effect. Just because I don't sin like Michael Vick and Big Ben and King Mannaseh, this does not mean I do not have the same capacity.
The reality of the capacity of my own sin confronted me at one period in my life and I wrote these words,
"To learn of and be left to the base of who I am
would lead me to the bane of my existence and
leave me in an irrevocable rebellion against God
With a chronic unrepentant heart.
I would be a brute beast before the Lord, reviling God in utter rebellion
likened to that of Satan and other fallen angels."
When I realized this capacity of my own heart, I finally understood how fallen angels and Satan himself would revile against a great God, because sin is degenerative and continually corrupts us. For this reason, I have to continually remind myself that I am no better than anyone else, thus I must forgive all others, lest I be a hypocrite and exempt myself from receiving God's forgiveness. For Jesus instructed us to pray, "forgive us, AS we forgive others."
Tomorrow, I will suggest another reason to forgive...because it is in the best interest of the offender, not necessarily the offended.
Beams Away!
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