Wickedness of men, bitterness of children

As the old year transitioned into the new, an FB post by a well-known influencer caught my eye simply because the content expressed her deep hurt and anger towards a congressman who recently died.

- CITO BELTRAN

The post may have been meant to release and forgive an injury caused by the dead congressman, but as a whole there was no denying the anger that still bubbled to the surface.

My initial thought was to say, “Forgiving the dead is like repenting when it’s already too late.” The thing about “forgiving” is that it generally requires repentance on the part of the guilty or who caused the offense.

It would be a waste of grace if one is given pardon or forgiveness but is not aware of, does not believe, or does not repent from the injury he or she caused. I do know of people who “repented” from their lifestyle but still paid the consequences of their actions.

An example is that of a person who may repent of their sinful or unhealthy lifestyle, truly change and follow God, but that does not prevent the consequences of diseases such as HIV, financial struggles, poverty even, or irreparably broken marriages.

In the case of those forgiven after death, it sadly makes no difference, because they now have to account on the “other side.”

Technically, forgiveness need not be uttered, spoken or announced except when trying to confront wickedness with grace.

Some have publicly done it to encourage others to do the same, as those who forgave their son's killer, the drunk driver who killed a parent, but essentially sought forgiveness.