Why did Jesus preach about being more forgiving towards those who sin against us?

[Shri Anil asked: Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.]

Swami replied: God forgives the sinner again and again with the hope of reformation in that soul. The love of God towards souls is a million times more than the love of a father towards his children. God keeps trying, again and again, to reform the soul and this is the reason for His long delay in punishing the sinner. Punishment brings only temporary reformation, whereas, preaching spiritual knowledge again and again brings about permanent reformation. It is in this very context that many people misunderstand God. They cannot understand why the sinner is not immediately punished. Such people are not wise. They do not realize that the punishment of the sinner does not compensate the victim in any way. It only satisfies the victim’s feeling of revenge. But it is necessary for the victim to be free from the attitude of revenge, during the process of reformation of the sinner.

Draupadī always pestered her husbands to take revenge against the Kauravas, who had insulted her badly. But God had already decided to punish the Kauravas. So, the vengeance of Draupadī was unnecessary. In fact, since she could not control her vengeance, she too had to be punished. She lost all her sons in the war owing to her attitude of revenge. If the victim is free of vengeance and faithfully depends upon God for judging the sinner, the victim will be compensated by God to the greatest extent. God is not in a hurry to punish the sinner because God wants to try again and again for the reformation of the soul through the preaching of spiritual knowledge. Hence, only unwise people burn with revenge. Such people are so foolish that they even try to deny the existence of God, just because there was some delay in the punishment of the sinner. Transformation and reformation of the soul through spiritual knowledge is the most powerful punishment that does not involve any violence. It alone brings permanent reformation in the sinner.

Keywords:

| Shri Datta Swami | Why did Jesus preach about being more forgiving towards those who sin against us? | Draupadi

★ ★ ★ ★ ★