The Nature of Hatred and Forgiveness

Our lives have underscored the common concept of hate and forgiveness among human. As part of our nature, the essence of hating and forgiving emanates from our desires to satisfy our hearts and minds. We tend to hate because we cannot accept the illicit acts of others; we hate because we cannot take into our mind the nonsensical thoughts of the bad things other people are committing. On the contrary, we forgive because it brings serenity in our hearts; we forgive because it puts our minds at ease. As you can see, we are created to experience both. But which is more powerful between hatred and Forgiveness? I’m here to give a pragmatic discussion on the opposing powers of the two most powerful facets of human nature.

From the beginning of time, I was trained to become a forgiving child. I was always thought that forgiveness consoles the soul and quenches one’s mind… Indeed, forgiving is truly enjoyable. I learned to forgive and forget the easy way. But as years went by, there was a shift in my ideals. I asked myself what’s the real essence of forgiving? What if by forgiving, I am only spoiling the person to do same act again and again? What if I am making the person worse because I’m telling him that it’s okay and nothing's wrong? My point is that forgiveness sometimes has it flaws. Forgiveness is good, but we must always tell those who committed the sin that it was indeed wrong and that he deserves to reflect on his behavior. Forgive and forget but do not forget to tell the person that he must feel sorry and that he needs to change for the better. Forgiving is natural to us. Just like God, as we are created in His likeness, we do have the ability to give other people their much deserved second chance. This sounds easy right? The sad thing is that forgiving is as difficult as climbing the Everest. It is possible, but you must have the courage and the will to do so. And it is with this reason that we tend to lean on the easier but more stressful thing which is hatred.

Hatred is one of the most puzzling emotions. It’s like a flame scattering like wildfire in one’s system. The moment you start to hate, you are throwing yourself to the pit of bitterness and anger. This bottomless pit will swallow your system and transform you to a man of absurd negativities. Nevertheless, hatred is sometimes good. We must hate as it is part of our human nature, but we must hate the right things. We must hate sin, we must hate the devil and we must hate those acts which disobey the will of God. While we must hate sin, we should remember to forgive the sinners. As what an old adage says, “Condemn the sin not the sinner.” I’d love to elaborate on this part, but it is unnecessary as the focal thing regarding our need to forgive is settled in one scope - If God was able to forgive, why can’t we? We must embrace those who committed wrong and we must treat them as patients who need to regain the spirit of valuing and loving the will of God. Let us all learn to forget and forgive. Moreover, let us keep our hearts and mind in serenity by not allowing hatred to reside within us. Be free and feel free. Again, forgive and forget!