Insane Repenters and Forgivers

"Again!"

 (Originally written for The Baldwin Bulletin: Pastor's Column July 21, 2021)

…“Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (Luke 17:1-4).

Most of us have probably heard some variation of the following quote about insanity often attributed to Albert Einstein: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.” With a little research, there’s actually a lot of uncertainty about the origin of this quote. There’s no source to show where Einstein said or wrote this or if it even came from him. Regardless, this way of thinking is appealing to many.

It can be appealing to innovators and leaders who like change—people who promote doing something new, shocking, or completely different than in the past. It can be the feeling of family and friends of people struggling with addictions or of those who seem “stuck” in life. Some people repeatedly do the same things out of stubbornness, with or without the knowledge that something has worked in the past and expect their replicating will eventually yield similar results. Others do it without even realizing they’re repeating what they’ve done before.

Are new ways of thinking and doing things or new products always best? I, like many people, enjoy innovation, efficiency, seeing and having things that seem to make life easier, but I’m not usually the first one in line to buy new things. I’d rather way to see if something works and is worth having based on others’ testing. Newer isn’t always better, but also, repeating what’s already been done isn’t always bad.

Christians are quick to point out, rightfully, that our only hope is in the forgiveness and salvation of our God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We need our sins forgiven and paid for, which Christ did. Scripture teaches us, with faith, we are to repent of our sins—to express our displeasure and hatred for morally wrong actions and offenses against God’s commands and to turn to him in love and obedience. Yet we’re supposed to do that among ourselves as well—even repeatedly.

In Luke 17, Jesus first of all warns people who cause others to sin, especially children. Those words aren’t just for wildly rebellious people, but he tells us, too, “Pay attention to yourselves!” He then commands us to some actions that we should be doing over and over again, even when they seem to yield the same results. “If your brother sins, rebuke him...” That’s what we’re supposed to do. Rebuke is a loving response towards sin. Pointing out and correcting our brothers and sisters in the Lord when they fall (and expecting they would do the same for us). “…And if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” If you think forgiving someone seven times for a way they have sinned is a lot, we read in Matthew 18:22, …“I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times,” (ESV, NIV, NASB) or, “seventy times seven” (CSB, KJV, NLT). That’s a lot of repenting and a lot of forgiving.

It needs to be clear: Jesus is commanding forgiveness to those who repent. The Greek word for “forgive” can also mean to “to leave behind, to pardon.” He’s not telling his followers here to just ignore wrongs, he’s not saying there’s not room to feel hurt or anger when sins and injustices have been done. Forgiveness isn’t to be a lazy, lip-service action. No, but when someone acknowledges and takes responsibility for, or “owns” their sin and wants to change, we’re to forgive them.

I don’t think any of us like being told we’re wrong or that we need to repent, but that’s what we’re called to do. We may also not like telling people we forgive them multiple times on the same day even for the same wrongs and sins, but that’s what we’re called to do. Before we think we only owe people two or three chances to do things right or else write them off, let us listen and learn and imitate our gracious, merciful, and benevolent Redeemer. And continue to help one another, expecting and encouraging different results.