Forgiveness can be a struggle at times. All of us have experienced the pain of unkindness or betrayal, and I suspect all of us have, at times, found ourselves dealing with resentment... either our own, or the resentment held by someone we ourselves have harmed. When holding a grudge, it's easy to justify it by saying the other person deserves it - but do we deserve to feel that way? As someone once said, You may have every right to feel the way you do, but do you want to?
The point I'm trying to make is this: holding on to the hurt never bothers the person who committed the offense as it does the victim who was harmed. Hurt feelings and resentment act as a spiritual poison.
One example is the life of Karla Faye Tucker. She had a troubled childhood, and she responded by harboring anger and resentment. Her life was characterized by self-destructiveness, and later she lashed out at the world around her. She participated in the violent murder of two people from whom she and her accomplice were attempting to steal a motorcycle.
While in jail and awaiting trial, Tucker stole again. This time she stole a Bible, not realizing that it was placed there with the hope that someone would find comfort there. She became a Christian and by all accounts a changed woman. Even the warden of Huntsville Prison testified before the board that was empowered to reconsider her death sentence that she was a model prisoner and had evidently been reformed.
While in prison, Tucker ultimately forgave those who wronged her and received the forgiveness of Ron Carlson, the brother of one of her victims. Carlson had himself been converted by Tucker's faith after visiting her on death row. Here is what she had to say about forgiveness:
When I was forgiven and experienced forgiveness, it freed me inside to soar. I went higher and deeper with the Lord. When we hold unforgiveness we block communication and intimacy. Forgiveness is not based on how we feel, because if it were we would never forgive. Forgiveness is based on a command by God - "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."
Executed February 3, 1998
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