Friday, February 25, 2011

Javert





I once put a scenario like this:  Someone posted your photographs before your nose job and you breaking out in hysterics untagged yourself seconds after they hit FBs news page. In between gasps, you sweat and wait for other 'blasts of the pasts' to show up. And only if you can untag those other friends or unfriend those in the tag especially the culprit.

But the truth is you cannot run away from the past and the truth that grips your heart. Including facing people we want forgiveness from and people we should set free by our forgiveness.

It’s an inarguable truth in our lives: we will always have a Javert in our lives who will feel like a ‘stone inside our socks’ - giving us discomfort every time we walk and constantly reminding us of its presence while we’re on rest. One who reminds us of our ‘sinful’ days, good years that ended ugly, a shameful event or simply an episode in our lives that we just want to edit out. One who kicks us up from sleep at wee hours of the morning so hard that we will not be able to get back to bed again. Constantly popping up on our favourite restaurants and spoiling our dinner until we are empowered to invite them to share our meal.  

But as a good teacher of mine has put it, we at some of point in our lives, is also a Javert to others… and guiltily, cradle and nurture our own Javerts into our own embrace to torture our own selves. 

Or worse, we are sometimes gripped by hypocrisy that we strut around saying we have easily forgiven the other party who has caused us pain but pin them down with blame to free ourselves from hurt and own guilt.

Should forgiveness be dictated by pride? Decreed by the law? Redeemed by time? Held and decided by age or gender? The blunder to be outshined by good deeds before we set free our own prisoners from judgment and captivity?

Why do we sometimes choose to stuff our backpacks with strings of hurts, hatred, guilt, blame that cause us not to forgive when it so much easier to shake our bags of the unnecessary loads? Why do we choose to carry them around when it doesn’t require too much muscle to lift it up and throw outside the window?

Because even if we always know what is the right thing to do or what self-help books dictate, or the fact that it is commanded, the power to completely forgive others and ourselves can only come from the grace of God. And by the truth that at the end of the day, the sinful us, are always forgiven repeatedly and unconditionally by our gracious God. So who are we to hold others so tightly by our own judgments and verdicts before we finally say: I forgive you?  

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25 comments:

  1. I also have a friend who untags himself on his own old photos but I find it weird because what we are today is a product of what we were and we've been through yesterday.

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  2. I have a friend also untags and requested me to delete his picture on fb. He doesn't want to be reminded of his past.

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  3. ^^ Similar situation with the two. I can't fathom why they don't want to see their pictures in the past... it's already part of their lives!

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  4. Past is past. Leave that behind, just don't forget the lesson (if any) it offered us. Great post. Timely read for me.

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  5. sometimes I think it's about the image. honestly i wouldn't want to untag my old photos because I do want to remember those times and I want to see the path that I've been through. :)

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  6. There was one instance that I requested a friend to untag old photos, it was because I was with an "old friend" and I don't like my kids to see the picture. But other than that, I would like to see old pictures of me.

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  7. I don't mind being tagged in old photos or people asking me about things that's part of history (previous relationships etc.) but I don't like being teased about it. Just like what was said in the preaching today, teasing us about anything is an insult and unfair to the person.

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  8. being tagged will old photos that causes you as a subject for funny discussions if fine with me... the person uploading and tagging friends should also be careful and should take into account the feelings of the people in the picture... you know your friends, so you should be aware whom to and not to... :D

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  9. I know and feel that we should lead by example, especially when God continuously gives us his forgiveness. But, I really find it hard to forgive those who've really hurt me -- more so, have tried to taint the very reputation which I've built for so many years. There will be those kinds of people. Then again, I've already let go of them.. it feels better that way. Feels like unloading excess baggage. :P

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  10. I know and feel that we should lead by example, especially when God continuously gives us his forgiveness. But, I really find it hard to forgive those who've really hurt me -- more so, have tried to taint the very reputation which I've built for so many years. There will be those kinds of people. Then again, I've already let go of them.. it feels better that way. Feels like unloading excess baggage. :P

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  11. Forgive and Forget as they say. Of course, it's easier said than done! Sometimes you require more maturity (emotionally and/or spiritually) to be able to really Forgive (and forget)

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  12. Our past has a great part of what we have become. It will always be there. Though some are to remember, some of them are also better to be left behind. But that doesn't mean we will forget about it.

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  13. Past is past and I do believe that everything happened for a reason. But once in a while it is still nice to look back and be thankful for whatever your past is because without your past and the lesson that comes with it, you wouldn't be who you are today.

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  14. We can never escape our past but this is not to say that we cannot rise up from a tragic or lonely past.

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  15. Human nature. Ego, pride, self-protection. But once we learn to "die" to ourselves, we receive "new life".

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  16. I can forgive someone who tags me with incriminating photos but I really find it hard to forgive someone who breaks my trust. It could take me years to forgive, which I think is super unhealthy!!!

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  17. I can see logic in untagging one's self from an old photo. Let's not be judgmental. We are all different, after all.

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  18. forgiveness is not an easy thing to do... but on the otherside, yes, you're right, who are we not to forgive when our Lord has always given us forgiveness for we don't know how much. I guess, human as we are, it is indeed a grace to have forgiveness in our hearts. Yahweh bless.

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  19. It may be hard but, forgiving will set you free.

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  20. for me, it comes with maturity. We must have that attitude of letting go and moving on.. :)

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  21. Hmmmmm.. Yeah. There are things on the past that are really hard to be forgotten, and I think that I also have these.

    But what can worrying give you, right? I think that past is past, and there's nothing we can do about it. Take it as an inspiration to live better today. In short, learn from it. :)

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  22. Moving forward and keeping the past as a lesson to our life will make us better person.. They can untag the photos but the memories lingers on.

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  23. sometimes, we hold onto things in the fear that if we let go, new painful ones would come. I've read that book, Les Miserables, way back in highschool. :)

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  24. Forgiving is not hard to do. Forgetting is.

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  25. I always untag myself at FB post not because I want to forget it. I just dont like it. I don't want my name and face be seen by strangers. I guest ,I just want to protect identity

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dipped