I Believe that People are Naturally Forgiving

I believe that people are naturally forgiving. Everyone can count on making a mistake at least once in their lives. It is what we do after that mistake that defines our character. We are given a choice after we lie, cheat or steal. We can become mature and confront our problems or we can live like children and try to live with them. Forgiveness is in everyone. I believe it is because everyone knows the feeling of being alone, scarred, and the feeling of guilt.

When I think of forgiveness a story comes to mind. I am a junior in high school now but when I was in fifth grade something happened at my catholic grade school. Three teenagers, who were under the influence of drugs, had broken into my school, a post office, and a Lutheran church down the street one night. They had completely destroyed my school and the other two buildings. They had thrown books around classrooms, broke every computer in our computer room, and smashed in our front door. All these things could be replaced though. Then they broke into our church. They had almost completely ruined the alter and all the carpet in the church. They had disrespected one of the most important things in the people of the neighborhoods life, the church. The police did not take long to track them down because they were careless leaving behind blood and finger prints. These teenagers were now in danger of being charged with a federal crime for attempting to set fire to a post office. One day after a Sunday mass a young man walked up to the front of the church. He began to tell who he was and admitted to what he did. He was one of the teenagers who had broken in and ruined the place he now stood at. He began to apologize and I became worried. I was young then and didn’t know how the people would react. The feeling all around was compassion. People forgave this kid who had ruined an important part of their lives just like that. It was an amazing site to see. Stories like this happen everyday and that is why I believe that people are naturally forgiving.