Explaining forgiveness to a ten year old is a difficult task.
After a dispute of sorts with his friends, my brother walked into my bedroom for advice.
“Do you think I should ever forgive Kevin and Kayla for what they did?” he asked me, his face still blotchy from his tears.
I cocked my head to the side and listened as he explained the situation he’d just experienced. As he spoke, I underwent a mental struggle. How can I explain the need for forgiveness to so young a child?
When he stopped talking, his eyes met mine expectantly. He didn’t want to hear what I had to say – he wanted me to take “his side” on it. Instead, I weakly explained how not forgiving someone hurts us worse than it does them. I tried to tell him that, while we should be wise in who we spend our time with, remaining angry at a person does no good. I tried to give him a lesson in holiness.
He disagreed.
Before I have children, perhaps someone will write a manual to relating to them. Something along the lines of How to Speak and Act Like a Child would be of great use to me.