Jim Preisig

Forgive Him?

For the past few days we have wrestled with questions concerning forgiveness. Hope you have found it a journey worth taking. Today we come to the end of the questions posed. In essence, do we forgive even him?

 

Questions:

We’ve talked about an eye for an eye, and that was not a Christian way of life. Yet, I couldn't help but have chills when I found out Seal Team 6 took out Bin Laden.  As a Christian, am I suppose to forgive a monster like that for the things he did? Am I a bad person for believing in justice?

 

Thoughts to Consider:

 Mmm. Great questions! They trigger more questions within me. For instance, implied in the question is the assumption that forgiveness and justice are mutually exclusive. In short, are we assuming that if we choose to forgive we must forgo our claims to justice? Is that really forgiveness, or a pardon? Can you forgive someone and still send them to prison, or to whatever hell is in store for them? 

 

Now these are questions that demand our best thinking as followers of Christ. We may not all agree.

 

Let’s use your example of bin Laden. The man was a bitter enemy of our country, perpetrating unconscionable crimes against humanity. Compounding the evil was that he did those crimes because of the sinister distortions and delusions taught by the Wahhabis Imams who preach a radical Islamist message of hate. They pretend to speak for God.

 

To forgive this sociopath means that we refuse to hate the soul of a twisted, demented man. He was not merely confined to his compound in Pakistan, he was trapped within a tortured soul, tragically misled by a grotesque understanding of God. To forgive that man does not mean that we allow such an evil soul to continue his crimes against humanity. He had to be stopped.

 

From my reading of the news, it seems that the US Navy Seals who captured his compound in Pakistan made a good faith effort to capture him alive. Perhaps I am naïve, but I don’t believe that our service men murdered him. He threatened their lives and they reacted to protect themselves, their mission and our lives. That seems just to me.   

 

In my heart and mind, there is no contradiction in acting justly against an enemy and choosing to forgive that same enemy.

 

Can we forgive him? We must. Can we tolerate others like him? We cannot. The act of forgiveness protects our hearts and souls; the act of self-defense protects our loved ones and preserves justice in our world.

 

Now it needs to be said that some Christians of strong faith and good conscience will disagree with me, and do so vehemently. Their reading of the Gospels leads them to a position of complete pacifism, refusing to ever use force and denying that war is ever justified – even to protect the country they love and people they cherish.

 

I respect their position, and find enough credence in their argument to leave me very cautious in my beliefs, for the Bible has been used in the past to justify indefensible actions. But my understanding of the scriptures leads me to believe that we must resist evil and strive for justice, even, as a last resort, to the point of arms.

 

 

What do you think? 

 

Thoughts on Forgiveness, Part 2

Yesterday we began to wrestle with the questions asked about forgiveness. Today we press on. My hope is that you will continue to turn the questions over in your mind, and allow God to work in your heart.

 

So let’s continue…

 

Questions:

Is there such a thing as partial forgiveness?  How do you know if you have truly forgiven somebody?

 

I am not a man that harbors ill feelings or hate towards others, but about a year and a half ago I was wronged, and it cost me dearly. In fact I’m still paying. It is hard not to have some resentment every month when I write that check.  It is what it is, and I make better decisions because of it. To say I forgiven the people involved, I don't know that I have, but don't know that I haven't. How do you know?

 

Thoughts to Consider:

Great questions. The questions imply that you have already discovered that forgiveness for most is not instantaneous. It may at times even seem partial, because the process of forgiveness has not yet been completed.

 

I don’t know how God works in your heart, but The Almighty seems to work slowly in mine when it comes to forgiveness. Admittedly, that says more about me than God. I am clearly a work in progress. That requires that I continually turn to Him for guidance and strength.

 

I have found that I need to follow the steps defined in my sermon last weekend - (1- Naming the pain before God. 2 - Asking God to Forgive. 3 - Asking God to bless those who have caused me the hurt or harm). Only when I have followed these steps for a significant period of time do I finally feel the burden is lifted from my heart. When I can think about the person or see that person and my stomach doesn’t tighten, then I know that God has set me free. When I can look through the eyes of compassion or pity, then I know I have truly forgiven.

Until then, the forgiveness seems partial at best.

 

Question:

 

We had friends over to the house last night to discuss this sermon. One person mentioned that you can forgive a person, and not the deed.  Is that true forgiveness?

 

Thoughts to Consider:

Good question. I think so, perhaps in the same way that God hates the sin but loves the sinner. But I'm not certain.

 

What do you think? Care to share your thoughts?

 

 

 

Thoughts on Forgiveness

Please note that yesterday’s post to you was a listing of questions raised from my sermons last weekend. My hope was that you would be turning them over in your mind and heart, so that today as we begin to wrestle with them together, you will be forming your own conclusions.

 

So let’s get started and see how it goes…

 

Question:

On the drive home from church last night though I got to thinking about how important it IS to fully and truly forgive and not seek revenge.  My question is this: Is it okay to believe in karma?  I have always felt that what goes around comes around.  So if I pray for karma is that really forgiving fully?  Even if I do follow the steps of forgiveness?

 

Thoughts to Consider:

Great question! I don’t believe in karma, as it carries too many Eastern Religion connotations, but I do believe that what goes around comes around. Jesus said that what you sew you will reap; so if you are a cruel, mean-spirited person, eventually it will catch up with you. No one will trust you nor let you close. But isn’t that different than forgiveness?

 

For instance, if someone wrongs you, forgiving them frees you from the toxin of anger and animosity. If you hold that poison in your heart it will kill you. So, you forgive in order to truly live. With time and great effort, the forgiveness frees you.

 

But that doesn’t mean that you free or empower the other person to re-victimize you. If they cheated you, forgiveness doesn’t mean that you allow them to keep doing it. So you may need to take steps to prevent that from happening, distancing or separating yourself from them. As a consequence, they will eventually find themselves alienated and isolated in a world of mistrust that they created.

 

That leads to the second querry...

 Question: 

Does forgiveness mean second chances? A couple series ago, you mentioned if you have done everything to reconcile with a person, and still not happy with them, you need to get the bad out.  Can you truly forgive someone if you must remove them from your life?

 

Thoughts to ponder:

To the first question, I suppose it depends on what you mean by second chances.

To the latter question - Yes! You can forgive and still distance yourself from destructive people. Jesus teaches that we are to forgive repeatedly, but forgiveness means drawing the poison out of your heart, not allowing another person to continually to poison your life.

 

What are your thoughts? What insights or experiences would you share?

 

Tomorrow: How do you know if you have truly forgiven someone?

 

Questions on Forgiveness

Last weekend I spoke on daring to forgive so that we can truly live. My message prompted some fascinating questions.

 

As I started to respond to individual emails, it struck me that I should include you in the conversation. My thoughts and responses will unfold in the coming days, in hopes that they will prompt you to either raise more questions or to discover the truth that sets you free.

 

Here are some of the questions that I have received:

 

On the drive home from church last night though I got to thinking about how important it IS to fully and truly forgive and not seek revenge.  My question is this: Is it okay to believe in karma?  I have always felt that what goes around comes around.  So if I pray for karma is that really forgiving fully?  Even if I do follow the steps of forgiveness?

 

 

Does forgiveness mean second chances? A couple series ago, you mentioned if you have done everything to reconcile with a person, and still not happy with them, you need to get the bad out.  Can you truly forgive someone if you must remove them from your life?

 

My problems don't stack up to those who truly deal with demons in their lives.  I guess what I'm trying to ask is....... Can you forgive somebody, and still wipe them from your life? Is there such a thing as partial forgiveness?  How do you know if you have forgiven somebody? 

 

We had friends over to the house last night to discuss this sermon. One person mentioned that you can forgive a person, and not the deed.  Is that true forgiveness?

 

I am not a man that harbors ill feelings or hate towards others, but about a year and a half ago I was wronged, and it cost me dearly. In fact I’m still paying. It is hard not to have some resentment every month when I write that check.  It is what it is, and I make better decisions because of it. To say I have forgiven the people involved, I don't know that I have, but don't know that I haven't. How do you know?

 

 

We talked about an eye for an eye, and that was not a Christian way of life. Yet, I couldn't help but have chills when I found out Seal Team 6 took out Bin Laden.  As a Christian, am I suppose to forgive a monster like that for the things he did? Am I a bad person for believing in justice?

 

Are there multiple levels of forgiveness, and is forgiveness just a process of grieving?

 

 

 

Are these your questions? Are there any you would add? How would you answer as a person who is striving to follow Jesus?

 

 

In the coming days I plan to address these questions with you, so please pop back tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

What’s in a Name?

Yesterday I read that Campus Crusade for Christ was changing its name. After determining that “campus” was passé, “crusade” too militant for the current culture, they took the next step and also dropped “Christ,” opting instead to go by “Cru.”

 

The para-church, college ministry explained the move this way:

 

"We were not trying to eliminate the word Christ from our name. We were looking for a name that would most effectively serve our mission and help us take the gospel to the world. Our mission has not changed. Cru enables us to have discussions about Christ with people who might initially be turned off by a more overtly Christian name. We believe that our interaction and our communication with the world will be what ultimately honors and glorifies Christ.

 

We believe wholeheartedly that God has given us this new name. Our team understands that our name is really for the benefit of others. Ultimately, it's not about our name, but how we live out our mission everyday."

 

I’m curious; what do you think? I understand the concept of rebranding for a new age, but does this change accomplish the goal?