(I've had this post written in rough draft form for a week or two. But I'm just now finishing it.)
Those of us who live in Alabama are well-acquainted with the recent story of the poisoned trees at Toomer's Corner in Auburn. Perhaps the story has even garnered nationwide attention. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story a brief rundown is in order. After Auburn beat Alabama in football this past November, a self-proclaimed, ill-guided Alabama football fan injected herbicide into two trees at the landmark Toomer's Corner adjacent to Auburn University. He then had the foolish nerve to call in to a sports radio talk show to brag about the misdeed. It did not take law enforcement long to track him down and arrest him. The trees are not expected to survive.
In the aftermath of these events, numerous callers to that same talk radio show weighed in on the situation. Auburn and Alabama fans alike called in to denounce his actions. The poisoning of the tree was called "horrible," "stupid," and "crazy." One adjective used to describe the poisoning was "unforgivable."
After hearing my fill on the subject, I turned the dial from sports talk radio to a news broadcast. At the end of a news story regarding the crisis in Egypt, the commentator described the actions of a certain government official as "unforgivable."
"Unforgivable"...what does that really mean? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word in this way -- too bad to be excused or justified. An act that is considered unforgivable must be so bad that it is beyond excuse, justification or pardon. What sort of acts might these be? Betrayal? Murder? And from whom is the forgiveness not possible? From the wronged party? Relatives and friends? Society in part or as a whole? God?
I would argue that "unforgivable" is an extremely overused word. There have been many reprehensible acts for which repentance was sought and forgiveness granted. Are there victims of wrong-doing who are unwilling or unable to forgive their offender? Yes, but I would argue that it is often not the act itself that is unforgivable, but the person offended who is unforgiving.
So, perhaps the word "unforgivable" has to come to mean the following: too bad to be excused...by me. We each hold the power of forgiveness. Sometimes we wield that power; sometimes we horde it like a miser leading to our own misery. We have become a nation of second chances. Witness the rebirth of the careers of Tiger Woods and Michael Vick. We each need forgiveness at one time our another -- from our spouses, our family, our friends, our coworkers, our community, our God.
Require forgiveness infrequently; grant forgiveness abundantly.
Those of us who live in Alabama are well-acquainted with the recent story of the poisoned trees at Toomer's Corner in Auburn. Perhaps the story has even garnered nationwide attention. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story a brief rundown is in order. After Auburn beat Alabama in football this past November, a self-proclaimed, ill-guided Alabama football fan injected herbicide into two trees at the landmark Toomer's Corner adjacent to Auburn University. He then had the foolish nerve to call in to a sports radio talk show to brag about the misdeed. It did not take law enforcement long to track him down and arrest him. The trees are not expected to survive.
In the aftermath of these events, numerous callers to that same talk radio show weighed in on the situation. Auburn and Alabama fans alike called in to denounce his actions. The poisoning of the tree was called "horrible," "stupid," and "crazy." One adjective used to describe the poisoning was "unforgivable."
After hearing my fill on the subject, I turned the dial from sports talk radio to a news broadcast. At the end of a news story regarding the crisis in Egypt, the commentator described the actions of a certain government official as "unforgivable."
"Unforgivable"...what does that really mean? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word in this way -- too bad to be excused or justified. An act that is considered unforgivable must be so bad that it is beyond excuse, justification or pardon. What sort of acts might these be? Betrayal? Murder? And from whom is the forgiveness not possible? From the wronged party? Relatives and friends? Society in part or as a whole? God?
I would argue that "unforgivable" is an extremely overused word. There have been many reprehensible acts for which repentance was sought and forgiveness granted. Are there victims of wrong-doing who are unwilling or unable to forgive their offender? Yes, but I would argue that it is often not the act itself that is unforgivable, but the person offended who is unforgiving.
So, perhaps the word "unforgivable" has to come to mean the following: too bad to be excused...by me. We each hold the power of forgiveness. Sometimes we wield that power; sometimes we horde it like a miser leading to our own misery. We have become a nation of second chances. Witness the rebirth of the careers of Tiger Woods and Michael Vick. We each need forgiveness at one time our another -- from our spouses, our family, our friends, our coworkers, our community, our God.
Require forgiveness infrequently; grant forgiveness abundantly.
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