May 4: Flawed Forgiveness

Do we have a flawed understanding of forgiveness?

Imagine the scenario where little ‘Jenny’ hits little ‘Mary’ when playing together. Upset, Mary tells their mother what has happened. Trying to rectify the situation, the mother marches Jenny over to Mary and says, “That’s not very nice. What do you say to Mary?” The well-rehearsed words “I’m sorry” come sputtering out. Mother then turns to Mary with expectation, “Well Mary, what do you say?” Knowing what is expected of her, she replies, “That’s ok.” Mother is now satisfied and tells them both to go play nicely.