Please, please, please, forgive me!

Could anything be more selfish than to request another’s forgiveness?

It seems the number of pleases is directly proportional to the severity of the offense.

Really? After injuring someone, we have the chutzpah to ask of them a favor so we can feel better?

Is that fair?

I can apologize, attempt restitution, and resolve to never offend again—and perhaps that will incline the person I’ve wounded to forgive—but I have no right to request it. It’s not my place to suggest what another should think, feel, or do.

I may forgive without being asked or acknowledged. It’s a deeply personal act involving no one else. But I can’t impose that on another. It’s not for me to ask. If, when, and how they forgive is their choice, not mine.

When Christ prayed, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” he had no trespasses and required no forgiveness. He wasn’t requesting forgiveness. Rather, he was teaching us how to pray and how to forgive.

Forgive freely. Allow others to forgive, or not, as they choose.