“I would forgive anything including cheating,” says Faithful Spouse.
“But you would just hold that over me forever,” replies Cheater.
Because the church has taught a distorted version of forgiveness, Cheaters feel entitled to forgiveness.
They assume a Christian spouse will have to forgive them.
The church has failed to teach the place of repentance when it comes to godly forgiveness (see Luke 17:3). Cheaters are allowed to ignore this important component, and all the spiritual pressure is applied to their victims–namely, the faithful spouse.
Cheater prideful entitlement is permitted to flourish under such distorted forgiveness teaching.
Cheaters who understood the gravity of what they did would not dismiss a faithful spouse’s generous offer to forgive them. They would see this offer as a golden one.
But if you already feel entitled to it…
Or if you think forgiveness means never having to deal with the natural fall out of one’s sins (like broken trust and triggering experiences for the faithful spouse), then you might reject it, too.
