Meekness

When someone offends you, that doesn’t always mean you need to forgive them. It may mean that you need to bear with them.

Our “I know my rights” society has distracted us, and with good intentions, even Christian books and counselors have helped us forget how to just let it go.

Not every offense is an occasion to be offended. We have become too sensitive!

Forgiveness is for sin, and forbearance is for every other discomfort we experience.

When you say you forgive someone, you have judged them first. You have ruled that they have sinned against you, and you have detained them until (a) they pay the debt they owe you or (b) you release them.

I don’t see how we can understand this process and still feel proud of ourselves for releasing them. Surely we ought to be ashamed of ourselves for indebting them.

I wonder if there has ever really been a time when I needed to forgive someone. Only God can cause someone not to pay the price for sin. My forgiveness does not release them from the price of sin. It only releases them from the debt they owe me, but who am I to say they owe me something for the discomfort I have felt?

Meekness is a lost virtue, or maybe virtue itself is lost.