Dumbing Down Forgiveness
As a father of children, I find myself running interference from time to time. When one child takes advantage of the other, I have to set this situation straight. Who did what? And why? Siblings know how to press the buttons of the other. At times, a situation requires forgiveness because of sin. After attempting to shepherd my kids’ hearts, one may need to seek forgiveness of the other, and inevitably, I hear, “I am sorry ____.” I am sorry has become the new “please forgive me.” And it’s not just the kids. Christian adults adopt the “I am sorry” phraseology.
The question I have is this: what are we losing by not using the word forgiveness? Is “I am sorry” sufficient to express the pardoning of one person’s sin against another? Or are we dumbing down forgiveness?
The Culture and Forgiveness
The word forgiveness is mostly absent from American culture. Even if you substitute the word forgiveness with another word, the meaning of forgiveness is foreign. Forgiveness is a formal release from an obligation or debt, especially understood as a debt of sin. In other words, when a person extends forgiveness to another person, the offending party is released from the sin debt. The sin is no longer held against the person. I do not think “I am sorry” captures the gravity of forgiveness.
Another word that captures the meaning of forgiveness is absolution. When a person is absolved, the guilt of sin is released from the offending part along with the punishment. Indeed, a person can be forgiven and still suffer the consequences of sin, but absolution is essential, especially when we consider what the Bible says about forgiveness.
But wait, there is more. The culture has not only jettisoned the meaning of forgiveness, but it’s now against forgiveness.
Anti-Forgiveness
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the anti-forgiveness movement in America. Oh, you haven’t heard of the anti-forgiveness moment? But wait, I think you have heard of this movement. It exists under the guise of cancel culture.
Cancel culture has become a buzz phrase, but it’s disgusting, and it’s anti-Christian. Cancel culture is the opposite of biblical forgiveness. Instead of pursuing reconciliation, a person is canceled because of a past mistake or sin. Why is this happening? The answer is simple. If you do not fall in line with woke ideology, you are fair-game to be canceled.
The anti-forgiveness moment isn’t concerned with the exchange of ideas or pursuing a path forward through compromise. Instead, the anti-forgiveness moment will mine Twitter accounts to find one unsavory Tweet from high school so that a person will be shut down. A person can be fired for holding a reasonable position because it’s not in agreement with woke ideology. Actors and actresses are fired because they are unwilling to capitulate.
If you disagree with the prevailing woke ideology, there is no penance you can make. There is not even an “I am sorry.” And there is no forgiveness. And here is the reality. Because all people have sinned (Romans 3:23), everyone will eventually be canceled. Just wait. You’ll see.
The Christian Response
Christianity offers a better way forward. The American culture would do well to readopt the principle of forgiveness. Instead of canceling people who disagree, we can pursue unity through forgiveness. If there have been wrongs or sins, there can be gracious confrontations. Jesus had something to say about the importance of forgiveness. We read about this exchange between Peter and Jesus in Matthew 18.
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
– Matthew 18:21–22
The Greek word for forgive (ἀφίημι) is the same word used in the Lord’s Prayer.
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
– Matthew 6:12
The idea here is to discharge, cancel, or pardon the offense. And the point Jesus is making is that disciples of Jesus Christ are to adopt a lifestyle of forgiveness. When your spouse offends you. When the co-worker drops the ball on your project. When cancel culture slanders your good name, the response isn’t further canceling. It’s forgiveness.
A Forgiving God
The precedent of forgiveness is found with God. Throughout the pages of Scripture, we read of a forgiving God. The most apparent instance of forgiveness is through the life and death of Christ. Jesus Christ came into the world to offer forgiveness to those who repent of sin.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
– 1 John 1:9
And then at the Golgotha, as Jesus was flanked to his right and left by criminals, he says,
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
– Luke 23:34
Before Jesus ascends to heaven, we read of these instructions and the message of Christ.
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
– Luke 24:45–48
Pulling it Together
The Christian response to Jesus is go and do likewise. Because Christians realize the power of God’s forgiveness for them, they are supposed to know the gravity of forgiveness with others. So, “I am sorry” is not enough. Canceling Cancel Culture is not the solution to the problem. (Besides, cancel culture will eventually cancel itself.) Christians look to Christ knowing the principles he taught and lived are now ours to share and live. And we are to proclaim repentance for the forgiveness of sins.