A Hard Choice

Servant Leader let's talk today about one of the hardest things we have to do - forgive. It's hard because, well, let's be honest, we rarely want to forgive. We rarely want to forgive because it's usually someone who has done us wrong - to include ourselves. It's usually someone who has hurt us emotionally or caused us physical pain or even caused us to fall out of love with something that we used to enjoy, like our work.

Forgiveness isn't easy. It means placing someone else's best interests above our own. Now, as servant leaders, we're used to placing others above ourselves, so that's not the hard part. The hard part is that, unlike our friends, colleagues, or workers, someone who needs our forgiveness probably doesn't "deserve it" in our eyes - to include ourselves. But again, if we are honest with ourselves, the blessing that comes from forgiveness is that it rarely is deserved, but given, nonetheless.

Paul is clear in his exhortation to the Corinthains that forgiveness is paramount in their worship.

"But if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent—not to be too severe. This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him." (2 Cor 2:5-8, NKJV)

But what does forgiveness have to do with my current work situation and how do I forgive a company that has no soul, you ask?

Well, a lot and the same way you forgive a person.

You see, Servant Leader, forgiveness is a choice. It is a choice we make to align ourselves with the desires of a God who is quick to forgive us. Everyone fails (Rom 3:23). But God is quick to forgive us if we ask. If He can forgive me my most egregious sins, then I can forgive my firm and the people who have disappointed me, criticized me, failed me, or just plain ignored me.

The power of forgiveness is in the choice, Servant Leader. It is in the release. Forgiveness doesn't mean that the damage is okay. It doesn't mean that the sins of the company or of our boss or of our coworker are okay. It simply means we aren't going to give them the power to hurt us anymore. It means that we are going to continue loving them all the more, not because they "deserve" it, but because we choose to love them. It means that we give the power to the One who can handle it, and always uses it to mature us, better us, protect us, and love us (Rom 8:28).

So, Servant Leader, make the choice today to forgive. Make the choice to release the hold that hurt has on you and step forward into the light of a new day, with a new purpose, and a new lease on joy. Make the choice and allow God to break the chains that hurt has bound you with. Align yourself with the One who forgives our every sin and covers our every fault and discover just how freeing forgiveness can actually be.

It's a choice, after all.

Even for ourselves.

(Photo: Getty Images)