Forgiveness is probably my greatest weakness. I'm good at forgiving people when they ask to be forgiven, but I have a terrible time getting over someone who has done something wrong in my sight and doesn't recognize it or ask to be forgiven. I know that I have a problem, but I also have a problem getting over my problem! I don't know what to do!
Take today for example, my family was haven pictures taken professionally in a hospital where we have been staying for quite some time, and I wanted to have a picture taken near the main atrium because of the iconic artwork that was displayed there. One of the employees came up and rudely told us "No, no, no, you can't do that." Now, we've been here for months taking pictures informally and there were no signs posted, and on top of that the employee could have been more respectful by starting with something like, "Excuse me, folks, but we don't allow photography in crowded areas where other patients might accidentally be included in the photos." Anyway, I turned around and put some distance because I didn't want to say anything that I would regret, but 15-30 minutes later I was still thinking about how I was having trouble forgiving this employee for the way he handled the situation. That's my problem!
When someone realizes that they've done something wrong to me and offers a sincere apology, I have absolutely no problem forgiving them immediately in nearly every case, so I don't have a problem with that. But I know that, for whatever reason, I'm just not able to forgive people who don't ask for forgiveness, and it's really getting to me because I don't want to be like that! I feel like going up to someone like the employee from my example and telling them something like, "Excuse me, but the way that you acted seemed a little bit rude and I feel somewhat upset by it" might prompt that person to apologize, in which case I would easily have been able to forgive them. But at the same time, I feel like I shouldn't be going around telling someone whenever I feel like I've been wronged by them because I guess Christians should be able to forgive people without asking them to ask for forgiveness.
The reason why I'm posting this here is because I'm hoping that one of you readers will have some insight, bible verse, or other resource that will help me deal with my problem.
Thanks in advance,
- Lukamu
Take today for example, my family was haven pictures taken professionally in a hospital where we have been staying for quite some time, and I wanted to have a picture taken near the main atrium because of the iconic artwork that was displayed there. One of the employees came up and rudely told us "No, no, no, you can't do that." Now, we've been here for months taking pictures informally and there were no signs posted, and on top of that the employee could have been more respectful by starting with something like, "Excuse me, folks, but we don't allow photography in crowded areas where other patients might accidentally be included in the photos." Anyway, I turned around and put some distance because I didn't want to say anything that I would regret, but 15-30 minutes later I was still thinking about how I was having trouble forgiving this employee for the way he handled the situation. That's my problem!
When someone realizes that they've done something wrong to me and offers a sincere apology, I have absolutely no problem forgiving them immediately in nearly every case, so I don't have a problem with that. But I know that, for whatever reason, I'm just not able to forgive people who don't ask for forgiveness, and it's really getting to me because I don't want to be like that! I feel like going up to someone like the employee from my example and telling them something like, "Excuse me, but the way that you acted seemed a little bit rude and I feel somewhat upset by it" might prompt that person to apologize, in which case I would easily have been able to forgive them. But at the same time, I feel like I shouldn't be going around telling someone whenever I feel like I've been wronged by them because I guess Christians should be able to forgive people without asking them to ask for forgiveness.
The reason why I'm posting this here is because I'm hoping that one of you readers will have some insight, bible verse, or other resource that will help me deal with my problem.
Thanks in advance,
- Lukamu