Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Wrongfully Accused

I had the great fortune of meeting a new friend today, who, by all indications, was Wrongfully Accused of doing something. We seem to be culturally exposed to many fictional accounts of people who meet such a description. My dad watched a TV series called The Fugitive in his youth. There are remakes of that show, in addition to a few other shows, like Burn Notice, Wrongfully Convicted, and The Innocence Project, to name a few, that have a similar situation. There are also many movies where we look at people who are indicted to varying degrees, while we, as the audience, know the truth.

Apparently, it has been determined that it is good entertainment to see someone who is innocent treated as if they are not. It has never been my personal favorite, but I usually only like movies if I can laugh at them. I have another friend who along with me seems to have pushed a hot button with a third party, as we have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong with said third party for the last year or so. From the receiving end, it certainly isn't fun, especially when it seems like someone just has a vendetta against you. So, why do we like it so much?

To be honest, I think it is about forgiveness, and we love to see someone who puts up with a tremendous amount and overcomes it, then decides that he doesn't need to hold a grudge. I think we like that because it is hardly ever attained in the real world. We like those things that we think we should do, but we just cannot bring ourselves to do. I think this is why Tim Tebow is so popular. He stands for something and is incredibly nice to those who are only seeking to discredit him. We all want to be like him, we just aren't.

But this concept led me into a discussion with a good friend, Joshua Austin, about whether we must offer forgiveness even if the person does not repent. I kind of came to this conclusion: Yes. If we do not forgive, it builds bitterness in us, and we are ultimately the ones harmed. Now, this is where I think it is important to remember how I defined Forgiveness. Because clearly, we should not be foolish people. To allow people to continually let you down because you refuse to use discernment is not a philosophy that I condone. By the same token, our lack of trust in someone does not mean that we need to harbor bitterness toward someone.

Nevertheless, I feel we must forgive those who wrongfully accuse us. As Christians, I think the Bible tells us to love our enemies and bless them. We are told to turn the other cheek when someone smacks us. Yes, I think withdrawing our personal hold of wrath over them is essential. But we need to come out of it wiser. When someone wrongfully accuses us, we should glean what we can, adjust our lives, and release the feeling of a hold we have.

This is where it gets difficult. Because if the person refuses to ask for forgiveness, eventually we must treat them, according to Matthew 18, as a heathen. At this point, Christians know that while non-Christians are responsible for their actions, we know from the Scripture, particularly this passage, that they will not attain it. So, unregenerate people are people we are generally chronically forgiving. Likewise we cannot trust them with the same responsibilities. So, we need to let it go and forgive that person, even when we were Wrongfully Accused. This is just so difficult to do, that when we see someone who is able to live above the fray like that, we idolize it. But, wow, what a difficult way to live.

2 comments:

  1. Well done blog my good sir:D

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  2. I think this had the material for about six blogs. But maybe that is because I am not as smart as you are, and people have to really break things down for me to get them. :-)

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