Forgiveness in an Age of Revenge
If somebody wrongs you, it’s natural to be upset. And it’s natural to want some kind of retribution or revenge.
Just look at how we as a nation reacted to 9/11. Everybody wanted to take up arms and go kill some terrorists. (In fact, we’re still on a witch hunt, killing people in countries who had nothing to do with 9/11.)
We could have reacted differently. We could have turned the other cheek, forgiven the perpetrators, and earned the world’s respect.
Unfortunately, we showed our true colors. To our detriment, we proved we are not a forgiving people.
The reason I’m writing this post today is because it’s WAY too easy to get bent out of shape when you are wronged. It’s WAY too easy to hold a grudge and boil in your own venom.
There is a better way.
It’s called forgiveness.
Just yesterday I was reading a post by Internet lawyer Mike Young. He writes, “Everyone makes mistakes. If perfection is the standard by which marketers are to be measured, none would meet it.”
I totally agree.
So while I did “name names” in Internet Marketing on Life Support, I did it to protect unsuspecting people from what I consider egregious abuses of trust. It was not to imply that I or anybody else is perfect.
A Better Way to Respond
Personally, I’ve been ripped off by multiple clients in the past. Some to the tune of thousands of dollars.
Of course, I could have moped about it, spent time thinking of ways to get even. But that kind of behavior is totally unproductive and not gratifying in the least.
In each case, I’ve made changes to prevent the same situation from happening again, then shifted my attention toward finding new (and better) clients. It’s paid off.
My advice: Keep short accounts with people.
As King Solomon advised in Proverbs 19:11, “A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression.”
So when somebody wrongs you (and it will happen), better to just chalk it up to experience and keep going. You’ll be a better human — and you’ll be more productive — if you learn to forgive, forget, and move on with your life.
-Ryan M. Healy
