Ready to Pardon

“Nothing makes us more like unto God than to be ever ready to pardon others.” — St. John Chrysostom

We’re more connected than ever, yet more separated.

So much of our lives happens through screens now—not just social media, but email, text messages, video calls. So little is face-to-face anymore.

And it creates a bubble. A bubble where we can be self-absorbed, where we focus on how we’ve been hurt, how that person did us wrong.

We turn into judges, passing sentence from our sense of individual superiority.

This separation makes it harder to forgive. It’s easier to hold a grudge when that person isn’t in front of you. It’s easier to pass judgment from behind a screen.

Think about it. When someone’s actually standing in front of you, you’re far less aggressive. Far less vindictive. Far less likely to throw up your hands in disgust.

It’s like road rage. We do things in the safety of our car that we’d never do face-to-face.

But St. John Chrysostom reminds us: nothing makes us more like God than being ready to pardon.

Not just willing. Ready.