Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of the Christian
faith is forgiveness – what it means, when it should be practiced, how
it can be accomplished.
And yet, forgiveness is at the very heart of the faith. It
is through divine forgiveness that one is delivered from sin and welcomed to
new life.
Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of the Christian
faith is forgiveness – what it means, when it should be practiced, how
it can be accomplished.
And yet, forgiveness is at the very heart of the faith. It
is through divine forgiveness that one is delivered from sin and welcomed to
new life.
It is through a life of practiced forgiveness that one is supposed
to communicate that new life – and pass it on to others.
“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors,”
a key line in the oft-cited Lords Prayer reads.
The line makes it clear – for the Christian believer,
forgiveness is intended to be a two-way street.
One receives. Then, one gives.
So, how is the work of forgiveness going these days?
Not as well as was intended, a recently-released poll indicates.
On one hand, the University of Michigan study on forgiveness
found that almost 75 percent of those surveyed believe they have been forgiven
by God for past mistakes and wrongdoing.
On the other hand, only 52 percent say they have forgiven others.
In addition, the study found that while nearly 60 percent of
those surveyed said they had forgiven themselves, only 43 percent said they
had actively sought forgiveness for harm they have done.
In other words, the equation of receiving and giving is breaking
down.
Older people were more likely than younger ones to feel forgiven
by God, although respondents of all ages reported feeling high levels of divine
forgiveness.
That finding “slightly surprised” Loren Toussaint,
a psychologist who is the lead author of the study report published in the Journal
of Adult Development in October.
“I think all of us, at one time or another, when weve
made the same mistakes over and over again, have felt that we must be a disappointment
in Gods eyes,” he said.
“Yet, theres a remarkably high level of confidence
across the country that God forgives us, compared to a much lower level of forgiveness
of oneself and others,” Toussaint added.
About 80 percent of adults aged 45 and older said they knew
that God forgave them for their sins and that this knowledge strengthened them
in facing their faults and being better people, compared with 69 percent of
adults 44 and younger.
Also, as people age, they tend to grow more forgiving of others,
the poll shows.
For instance, 46 percent of persons age 18-44 indicated a high
level of forgiveness of others. That compares to 57 percent of persons age 45-64
and 62 percent of persons age 65 and older.
Men and women tended to be equally forgiving of themselves
at 56 percent and 57 percent respectively.
However, women proved more forgiving of other people, 54 percent to 49 percent.
Women also indicated a higher awareness of forgiveness by God, 48
percent, compared to 37 percent of men.
The figures were reached by asking poll participants a series
of questions to determine the extent to which they had forgiven themselves and
others.
“We found a particularly strong relationship between forgiveness
of others and mental health among middle-aged and older Americans,” said
David Williams, a sociologist and senior research scientist at the University
of Michigans Institute for Social Research.
Research indicated that people who reported higher levels of
this type of forgiveness were more satisfied with their lives and less likely
to report symptoms or psychological distress, including feeling nervous, restless
or sad.
However, not all types of forgiveness were so beneficial, researchers
indicated. Indeed, high levels of “proactive forgiveness” were linked
to higher psychological distress, Toussaint said.
Proactive forgiveness involves asking forgiveness from someone
a person has hurt, asking God for forgiveness and praying to God to forgive
someone who has been hurtful, he noted.
“Older adults with high levels of proactive forgiveness
reported less satistfaction with their lives than other older adults,”
Toussaint said. “This is understandable, since asking forgiveness can be
stressful. It involves admitting to yourself that youve done something
really wrong. Also, you risk rejection from the other person.”
(This article includes information from a Religion News Service report and
a University of Michigan press release)