Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire When is a person forgiven? Never?

Ok, so a friend of our family is going thru a tough situation right now. They committed & were convicted of a crime. Although not violent, because of the nature of it, it was splashed all over local and state papers, and was kept front page here for an unusually long time. As such, this person cannot get help of ANY type here, save a small amount from our church, and handouts from the ex. amazing that in this day and age, a person worries DAILY about getting just two meals per day, not to mention the other very basic things of life.

So my question is, really, SERIOUSLY, when is this person forgiven? Not by Jesus, but by society? When they are dead? When they are starved to nothing, and then dead? When they become so desperate that they commit a crime, and then become prisoners / de-facto wards of the state?

Really would like some serious answers to this, thanks

True friendship doesn't ever require forgiveness.

Sounds like a problem with some people in the community. They will not forgive this person no matter what.

Forgiveness is a personal matter.......not a group one.

You are talking about earning peoples trust.Thats a hard one.Long time.

I wish I could help.

I struggle often with the difference between forgiveness and forgetfulness. I am able to forgive, but I admit to having trouble with forgetfulness.

I realize that your family's friend is human. I am human as well.

It is my hope that he soon sees an easier road, and that the people in your community find the wisdom to be better than I am.

Sorry I cannot give you a better answer.
CT

Are they doing jail time?

I'd have to know more specifics of the actual crime and conviction before even venturing a guess. If it's a non-violent, non person-to-person crime, I'm far more likely to forgive and forget. Even at that, if it involved taking someone's livelihood or bilking someone out of their life savings, not so much.

It must not be something real petty, or odds are you would've mentioned it, and odds are it wouldn't have been/remained headline news.

Jesus taught in parables. They have relevance to spiritual people and are nothing but stories to anyone else. When he taught the adulteress he spoke to her and not the masses. When he had finished they were alone and she was sent on her way to live her life without condemnation provided she understood his teachings.

We could all learn a lesson from this, but sadly, it is sometimes easier to be critical than forgiving. There s a higher law, we need to remember that and respect one another's dignity and hope for the same consideration when we fail...

Tell that to the guy I used to work with who was best friends with this [bleep], even stood by his side at the first press conference when she was still considered a "missing and endangered person".

http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/mark_hacking/index.html

They tore apart the Salt Lake Landfill with heavy equipment searching for her body, which they eventually found and determined she was pregnant. It hit the media a while after the sick [bleep] had been in prison that he was going by the nickname "dozer" and had a tattoo of a bulldozer put on his back. Forgiveness, nah.

+1

SAGE advice.

Your getting the definition of forgiveness wrong I think.

I can forgive someone of a trespass, but I don't ever have to trust him again.

For example, if I let someone babysit my kids and they moleste them somehow, that's a trespass against them and my whole family.

Now (assuming I don't kill them right away) I might forgive them in my heart. Meaning I won't hunt them down and string them up. And I won't wish them ill will of any kind.

But do ya think I would, or should, allow them to babysit again?

I'm sorry for the situation your friend is in! I sure can understand it though! I've been disabled for quite some time, not enough according to Uncle Sam for disability and I sure can't work! After almost 10 years of no income, I have nothing at all left! I can understand completely having no options left and wondering if crime might be the only way out! I'm lucky though in a way since I'm way to feeble to be a criminal and have no wife or kids to worry about! If I had I may have done something desperate long ago!

If your friend committed a felony I'm afraid it's going to follow him the rest of his days! Even if it wasn't a felony the community will never forget and he'll always be that guy that ....(whatever he did)!
When your really down and out, prison doesn't sound all that bad! 3 meals a day, a bunk, a roof over your head and heat in the winter! Some of us can't get all that even after working all their lives!

Bad things happen to us all but what really matters is how we deal with it! Maybe after while, if your friend is healthy and willing maybe he can start to do some kind of community service and if he gets back on his feet maybe helping others to show all that he's not the crook folks think he is!

BUT sometimes communities never forget or forgive! If that's the case he may want to move on and start over elsewhere!

I tell ya all this not for a boo hoo woo is me but to show ya that any of us could be in that exact situation at almost any time!

I hope you can help your friend and I hope it doesn't come back to bite ya in the butt!

When they stop gouging 22 ammo in the classified's

The answer is never and it is best to go make a new start elsewhere.

Unless they are a kiddy-fiddler in which case they should just shut their mouth and suffer.

Well it depends on you this person is and what he or she did I suppose. If its just a local thing, then maybe a compete break and move someplace else and start over might be the best thing to do. A felony conviction that going to make life difficult no matter were he or she ends up. In time if the record can be expunged then it might be something to look at.

iambrb---as you know I'm also located in the upstate. PM if there's something I can assist with.

Especially, with job assistance.

David

Earning trust sometimes can be tough. But to lose it and then attempt to regain it is an entire different kettle of fish.

What kind of help does this person need? Is this person unable to work? Is it impossible to get a job because of the past offence? Possibly a move is in order.