"Then Peter came up and said to him, `Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times? Jesus said to him, `I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven(Matthew 18:21-22)."
Someone sent a letter to the National Lampoon's letter department which read, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times and I'll blow your head off with a shotgun." At one time I thought it was amusing, but that's how some people really think, even if it's not to that extreme. In our culture, many people have an attitude like, "Okay, I'll let you get away with it this time, but next time you try it, you're going to pay."
It's tough to forgive people. I personally have a difficult time forgiving cops. I've gotten two speeding tickets, and they cost a lot of money. For a long time, I was immature about it. On one street, I knew where the cop lived, so I cranked up my stereo full blast in hopes of ruining his day. I also drove 5 miles an hour in hopes of driving home the point. He was never there when I wanted him, though, and the only thing I'd get out of it is a citation for disturbing the peace, even if he was there. But the man was just doing his job. Christ calls me to forgive that man. Christ also calls me to forgive the woman in charge of the Prepress program, even though she forced me to take classes I didn't want to take, and has helped me very little with my career.
Seventy times seven or seventy seven times. That's how many times Jesus said to forgive other people. I doubt anyone will be able to keep count or have to forgive anyone that many times. Even if you did, it reminds me of the stuff they make karate students do. They say, "We're *only* going to do twenty five pushups!" But they mean twenty five pushups in each cardinal direction. Or else they'll have you do twenty five, then they say, "Okay! Now we're *only* going to do twenty five more!" And you end up doing a hundred when it's all done. It makes you think you're doing less than you really are.
But with forgiveness, we're never done. If forgiveness were calisthenics, it would be equivalent to an infinity of pushups. Obviously, no one human can do that many pushups. And no human being can forgive for an infinity. But maybe it's a good incentive to set a lower goal, so that we feel we are making progress, a goal that we can surpass. Maybe it's a good idea to actually sit down and tally the number of times you've forgiven people. That way, when you get to 490, you start over.
Dear Father in heaven, show me the way of forgiveness in the troubled spots in my own life. Amen.