Pontificus Minimus Opines
Sunrise on the Mississippi River. Photo by The Delta Bohemian
“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” — Mark Twain.
Ole Pontificus can be a tad bit testy at times, particularly when hungry, out of money, or just plain antsy due to being his dysfunctional self. Last week, he was edgier than necessary with someone, and not unusually, he said some things he shouldn’t have uttered.
It is one thing to repent before God, a must in the life of a Judeo-Christian, but it is imperative that the offender (That’s Poor William here) makes it right with the flesh and blood he or she offended.
Saying, “Hey man, I am so sorry,” is rarely easy or fun, but it is the right thing to do and those six words can do more for a relationship than just about any other ones, except, “Hey, wanna share my lottery winnings?”
Pontificus has never had a relationship–romantic, platonic, work-oriented, or church-related—that possessed any depth until some kind of rub developed and peace was made between the parties. Humans are going to irritate each other, often, but humanity is at its best when we forgive one another.
The human capacity for forgiveness is exceeded only by that of God himself and possibly man’s best friend, the dog. Cats can be cool, but they don’t seem intent on forgiving a dadgummed thing. Though many folks today are prone toward drama and stirring things up just for the sake of agitation, on the whole most people want and need some peace in their lives. Forgiveness—both asking and receiving—is a quick, though often not easy, peace-enabling exercise.
The joy of restored relationship with God and with others is like a “shot of life,” healing the soul and tempering the bile-induced anger often associated with feeling wronged. When we ask for forgiveness and mean it, then the offended parties acceptance is no longer on the shoulders of the asker.
Ask God and men and women for forgiveness, and they are most likely desirous to do so, even if it is difficult, but if they don’t forgive, then the forgiveness asker’s conscience is clean.
Now, that doesn’t mean one can steal a man’s woman or not pay his bills and simply say, “Sorry!” That is not being truly repentant; it is just an example of one who is “sorry” as describes his or her character, as in “Hey, that Dude is sorry; he ain’t worth killin’!”
Pontificus screws up more than just about anybody else on planet Earth, but he does try to make things right when he is aware of the need to and when he tempers his pride with, “Hey man, I am so sorry!” The Bible tells us to strive to be at peace with others when at all possible and to not let the sun go down on our wrath–both excellent admonitions to work at our relationships with others. Vaya con Dios! pm
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