Forgive Them, For They Know Not What They Do?

"Stop Asking Black Victims of White Violence If They Forgive Their Victimizers"

Shaun King is a writer for the NY Daily News and he is calling attention to the fact that in America, there is a blatant double standard when it comes to forgiveness and race. Just like everything else in this country, the same 'unspoken rules' don't apply to everyone. However, let's take a moment to be clear about forgiveness.

As Christians, forgiveness is something that God expects all of us to do if we ultimately want to be forgiven ourselves. Most of us who are God-fearing know this, but there's one thing that everyone seems to forget about forgiveness. You need to REPENT and ASK for it. It's not something that is 'automatically' extended to us. When you do these things, God will be merciful and grant you forgiveness. I think it's pretty safe to say that most of us are still a 'work in progress' when it comes to our Christianity. As a result, forgiveness doesn't come easy and takes time for some situations. And, if we eventually choose to forgive someone for a wrong they have done toward us without them asking for it, it's usually because we allowed ourselves sufficient time to hurt, grieve, etc. and we've reached the point in which we NEED to forgive them in order to move on and become whole again.

Now, with that being said, I encourage you to click on the image or text link underneath and read Shaun's article. I agree with it and once again, this is just one more example of how race plays a part in EVERYTHING that is done, felt, spoken, and thought in America... even when it comes to forgiveness.