What is Divine?

Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?

Up to seven times?

Jesus answered, ‘I TELL YOU, NOT SEVEN TIMES, BUT SEVENTY-SEVEN TIMES’.

This is neither a theological nor a psychological interpretation. Just an observation from your very ignorant author.

I have read somewhere recently that people with the strongest sense of justice and those who aspire to seek careers that involves enforcement of justice are likely to have witnessed a parent experiencing injustice in society, or family while growing up.

Fighting against injustice was a heroic notion for me. I believe in my sense of justice and do not hesitate to speak up against injustice when I see it happen in front of my eyes, mostly.

I do agree with the observation that I read from some not-so-reliable source but even when I believe in enforcement of justice, an anxious question pops up in my head. How long will this weary and dreadful journey of a fight will it take for justice?

I will be honest with you. I was raised in a family that believes in strong and bold decisions, accountability and a powerful instinct to morally fight for what is right. The fights I am talking about needn’t necessarily be physical, but non-violent disagreements. But again, the question comes up, how long will the fight last?

The minute I hear an injustice done against me, my natural instinct of surprise, fury and fear builds in me that I need to immediately make the wrong right. But in some minutes, the fury reduces to rage. In some hours, rage reduces to anger. Anger to acceptance and acceptance to forgiveness.

But sometimes, even when I am forgiving someone for an injustice done against me, I wonder if the forgiveness I possess is a divine quality as per the popular belief ‘to forgive is to be divine’, or if I am simply lazy to fight as the sudden surge in adrenaline wore off. I cannot deny that, that forgiveness brings me peace, a virtue of the divine alone. So, I wonder if we are reading the words ‘to forgive is to be divine’ wrong. God suggests forgiveness, not because we can be like God. God suggests it because it puts us to ease, it helps us feel the virtue of divine and not divinity itself. If forgiveness, makes everyone divine, we would have innumerable Gods by now. If love is divine, we all would be deities by now as we all are bound to love, one way or another.

So, what is divine?

This has led me to think critically if it is the fight for justice, the action we choose not to proceed with, that is really divine. The harder option. To dwell on to the fight for justice, not to oneself, but for others. Fighting for oneself is easier, but fighting for someone else is selfless, like God.

 Now when someone tells me that it is godlike to forgive, I wonder if it isn’t godlike to fight for others who have nothing to give you, nothing to reward you with and nothing to hold onto.

Jesus answered the question ‘how many times should I forgive a sister or a brother who sins against me?’. Jesus answered 77. To an individual for a sin committed against him or her. Jesus did not say to close your eyes and forgive when a vulnerable individual is being sinned against, multiple times. If you argue that forgiveness is objective, that we should practice forgiveness in everyone’s case, think again.