Is there someone that you need to forgive? It may be for something that they did yesterday or twenty years ago. Genuine forgiveness is rare in our current “cancel culture”, where revenge or retaliation is more often the case. But Tim Keller in his excellent book Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I? tells us that God requires forgiveness whether or not the offender has repented and has asked for forgiveness.
Keller tells us that forgiveness is always costly. It is a form of voluntary suffering. In forgiving, rather than retaliating, we make a choice to bear the cost. However, he tells us that the self-centeredness that grows when we stay angry at somebody, when we hold things against them, when we continue to regard them as if they’re liable to us and they owe us, is a prison. Keller tells us that if we don’t forgive the person, we will likely veer into the territory of revenge. Continue reading →