I can not mention the number of times I wronged people, and I am sure it will happen again, whether I like it or not.
We are humans full of weaknesses and diverse opinions. Disagreement must come between us for certain. We would get mad at each other, sometimes we may even go extreme and do some really crazy things just to satisfy or defend our beliefs.
All these are common with humans. But one sweet thing I love about humanity is our ability to forgive. No matter what someone does to us, we have the liberty to forgive them and let everything go, to retaliate, or to hold the offence in our hearts.
Nevertheless, I think forgiveness is a virtue we all need to possess. One thing many don't know about unforgiveness is that they are keeping themselves in a cage of bitterness and hate when they fail to forgive.
Anytime you see your offender, your anger kindles, the offences come back fresh, and you will suddenly become uncomfortable.
Sometimes the person might even forget that he or she has offended you, and live their lives happily, but you are there, suffering in the chains of the memory of the offence.
I have been hurt before, I have been in the shoes of being so hurt that I swore never to forgive, but I later did. Today, I can boldly say that I don't have anyone that I have not forgiven.
Yes, I may still have some memories, but trust me, I am not keeping them for any evil intentions, but as lessons.
I know there are certain offences that hurt terribly, but then will not forgiving the person make things better? How does it even change the fact that what has happened has happened already?
Why punish yourself because of something you can't undo then? I believe in forgiveness, and no matter how badly I get hurt, I will forgive; sometimes it might take me a long time, but trust me, I will surely let it have its way.
I was discussing with my neighbor a few days ago, and he was telling me about his experience with his friends, or should I say, former friends.
He said he accommodated them in his apartment when they had nothing, he fed them, and even got them jobs where he lives in Benin.
They later left him there and came back to Nasarawa, their hometown, when life became better for them.
Things later went south for him at Benin. He got scammed in the name of flying abroad, and he sold all he had, thinking his breakthrough had arrived, only for the person running the process for him to walk away with his money.
He lost everything, he decided to leave Benin for Nasarawa because his parents are there, and since his friends are also there, he felt happy and came and joined them.
They stayed for a few months together and they began giving him attitudes; treating him like a stranger. When he couldn't bear it anyone, he packed out of the house back to his parent's house.
Currently, he owns a provision store, and he is working on getting his apartment. What he said that touched me about his friend was that he is never going to forgive them, and he will never allow anything good to pass through him to them.
You will think it's just words. Someone wanted to buy a container that belonged to one of them recently, and the person was his customer. When he realized that the container belonged to his friend, he discouraged the customer from purchasing it, and the man left.
The sad part is that his friends are now back to zero; everything they have is gone, and they are hoping to sell that container to get some money.
I know they will get another buyer, but I feel it's wrong to hate someone to the extent of fighting their progress.
This is a lesson for all of us; we should always be careful of the way we treat people. No matter what the case might be, we should always find a way to address it and make peace reign. We never can tell who will help us tomorrow.
Most of you will say my neighbor is wrong for that height of hate, well, that might be true, but he also has his reasons and owns the right to still be angry.
However, we must learn to forgive and, if possible, forget because one day, we will definitely offend someone. How are we going to feel if they refuse to forgive us, especially if we apologize? Offending people is like a loop, all of us will one day come to that point.
N.B: All Images Were Generated By Gemini AI
