Pity: A Bridge to Forgiveness

Vindictiveness is akin to anger and resentment when it becomes ingrained in a person's attitude, thoughts and feelings. This powerful belief system has the potential for numbing a person's feelings of compassion for others. Little or no sympathy is possible for those to whom vindictiveness is directed because the heart has grown cold and hard.

Pity is a form of sympathy and compassion. A woman became angry and bitter toward a co-worker who, out of jealousy, spread slanderous gossip about her that broke her heart. She just couldn't bring herself to forgive the woman because of the damage it did to her reputation. As her anger intensified, she became more resolute to retaliate.

When she learned her co-worker was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she began to develop feelings of pity for her which replaced the anger and vindictiveness. Her feelings of pity built a bridge to forgiveness. Jesus used the word pity to describe a Good Samaritan who was willing to help a man who in all probability would never have done the same for him.  

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“But a Samaritan who was traveling that way came upon the man, and when he saw him, his heart was filled with pity. He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him... 

Jesus replied, “You go, then, and do the same.”

~Luke 10:33-34, 37 Good News Bible

Forgiveness – A Bridge Builder

Forgiveness is a bridge builder, yet forgiveness may appear so difficult that nothing could possibly heal the broken lives. Everyone who has harbored anger and bitterness knows the alienation and separation that accompany these feelings. The desire to forgive must accept being vulnerable to possible rejection.

Thank God rejection seldom happens, but it exists in those people whose objective is distance and isolation. Rejecting forgiveness may be present in those who refuse to trust and who use it as a means of wielding power over those who have caused pain. Lack of forgiveness can be as fierce as fire burning out of control.

Being unwilling to forgive can also be subtle like a simmering pot containing secret contents carefully hidden from the one who caused you pain and suffering. Fake smiles and friendly gestures may camouflage a lethal, angry attitude, yet with God’s mercy a bridge to forgiveness can be built. It's imperative to ask God to give you the desire to be forgiving.  

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Post this at all the intersections, dear friends. Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger.

~James 1:19-20 The Message

Most important of all, you must sincerely love each other, because love wipes away many sins.

~1 Peter 4:8 Contemporary English Version