Moving From Retaliation To Redemption

In this present world, a lot of people think that justice entails giving "an eye for an eye," but beyond that, there is still a different pathway - a pathway of redemption and healing. When you feel you are wronged, offended, hurt, or betrayed, you may be moved to strike back, so that the person can have a feeling of what you felt. But after retaliation, you will discover that it does not override the pain and the hurt, rather, in most cases, it might even magnify it, and lead one into a cycle or unforgiveness and destruction. But when you learn to forgive and allow for redemption, you will become more at peace.

_{Image from Pexels}

You will agree with me that when you retaliate or take revenge for what someone does to you, you may end up overdoing it and you will feel bad at the end. It may feel good at the moment to retaliate and may even create the feeling of momentary control, and may make you to feel that you are standing up for yourself. But after the temporary pleasure, it will begin to build anger within you, that can keep you chained to the past, which can prevent you from truly healing. This is why, when you see the person that you have taken revenge on, a certain unwholesome feeling will be triggered within you.

Beyond the satisfaction of ego that retaliation can bring, it delivers some very catastrophic results in the long run which would have been avoided by simply forgiving and allowing for redemption. I remember a story that one of my friends told me about the trouble that he ran into some weeks back simply because of retaliation. While he was driving home from work, he was in a traffic for about 30 minutes and the cars were moving so slowly. He got very frustrated with the time he was wasting because he was rushing home to watch one of the leagues' finals. Right there, the car behind him slightly hit his back bumper while in the traffic.

Right in the frustration, he stormed out of his car and headed straight to the man's car. Out of anger, he tried hitting the bonnet of the car but he mistakenly hit the windscreen. The force from the hit and probably from the metal ring he was wearing on his fingers, caused the windscreen to be smashed and some parts of the broken pieces injured him. He created two problems for himself - he had to pay for the replacement of the broken windscreen, and he went to the clinic to have stitches on his hand. He also ended up missing the live football match. All these because he chose retaliation. If he had let go and forgiven, all those would have been avoided.

Refusing to retaliate and rather choosing redemption leads to greatness. Think about the great leaders of both this present time and the time past, some of them were heavily wronged, yet they did not retaliate. People like Martin Luther King jr, Nelson Mandela, etc, who were persecuted, some where even imprisoned, and made to suffer what would have been devastating, yet they chose forgiveness and redemption, which lead to greatness. When something happens to you, instead of being quick to ask "why me?" or taking offence, it will be better to look at the bright side - a side that can teach lessons to you.

_{Image from Pexels}

Choosing to heal or choosing redemption instead of retaliation does not mean accepting people to hurt you nor does it mean allowing yourself to be used and trampled under the feet. But it means favouring your peace of mind over the offender, then setting boundaries and defining what to permit, but without allowing it to be rooted in bitterness and anger. When you learn to control yourself, you will understand the true meaning of power. True power comes, not from controlling others but it comes from controlling yourself. Forgiveness does not mean that you are a weakling nor does it mean overlooking the offence, but it means not allowing it to control you, but learning how to control it and to control yourself. Remember that you may not have a choice of the offence, but you have a choice of forgiving and letting go.

Thanks for reading