Quick to accuse vs. quick to forgive

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THESE are the two opposing attitudes that can be seen in God and in us. We are quick to blame and accuse others for whatever fault, defect, mistake others may commit, including those that we make up simply because of our biases and differences. But God is quick to forgive, even if there are some passing anger involved and corrective reminders given.

These opposing attitudes are highlighted in the readings of Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent. (Daniel 13,1-9.15-17.19-30.33-62; Jn 8,1-11)

In the First Reading, we are told about how two old men who were judges plotted against the beautiful Susanna who refused to give in to their lustful desires. Susanna had to go through a terrible period of being accused falsely until Daniel the prophet saved her by exposing the malicious tricks of the old men. This is a sample of how we can go accusing someone, even falsely, if only to get what we want.

And in the Gospel, we are told about how some scribes and Pharisees dragged a woman who was caught in adultery to Christ. The purpose was to see if Christ would follow what was written in the Mosaic law that such woman should be stoned to death. Instead, Christ did nothing until the accusers left. He just told the woman to go free and to sin no more. This is a sample of how God can be quick to forgive.

We should be wary of our tendency to accuse and blame others. This can happen because we may want to deflect attention from our own mistakes or shortcomings, or because we fail to fully consider others’ perspectives or feelings. There are many other reasons why we tend to be quick to accuse and blame others.

What we should rather do is first of all to reflect before reacting, to try to see things from the other person’s perspective, or from where he is coming from. We should try to focus on the issue or problem involved rather than on the person himself. We should also try to give the others the benefit of the doubt. This would help us restrain our tendency to judge rashly and to be quick to accuse and blame others.

On the other hand, we should learn to be forgiving just as God himself is forgiving to everyone. In fact, Christ himself told us clearly that given the fact that we also have our mistakes and sins, we should be forgiving to everyone since only then can God be forgiving to us.

If Christ can offer forgiveness to those who crucified him—and there can be no worse evil than killing Christ who is God—why do we find it hard to offer forgiveness to others?

All of us sin one way or another. The awareness of this truth is not meant to depress us but rather to keep us humble and always feeling in need of God. We should be wary when we would just depend solely on our own resources to tackle this predicament. We need God.

The awareness of this truth should also help us to develop the attitude to forgive one another as quickly as possible, since that is the only way we can be forgiven. When we find it hard to forgive others, it is a clear sign that we are full of ourselves, are self-righteous, proud and vain. It is a clear sign that we are not yet with Christ. A true Christian is always a forgiving person!

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com