Forgiveness does not relieve someone of responsibility for what they have done. Forgiveness does not erase accountability. It is not about turning a blind eye or even turning the other cheek.
TUTU DESMONDForgiveness is truly the grace by which we enable another person to get up, and get up with dignity, to begin anew.
More Tutu Desmond Quotes
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Though wrong gratifies in the moment, good yields its gifts over a lifetime.
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We are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water.
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The path of joy was connection and the path of sorrow was separation.
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We need other human beings in order to be human. I am because other people are. A person is entitled to a stable community life, and the first of these communities is the family.
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We are fragile creatures, and it is from this weakness, not despite it, that we discover the possibility of true joy.
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Our maturity will be judged by how well we are able to agree to disagree and yet continue to love one another, to care for one another, and cherish one another and seek the greater good of the other.
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God is transforming the world now–through us–because God loves us.
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Much depends on your attitude. If you are filled with negative judgment and anger, then you will feel separate from other people. You will feel lonely.
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Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
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Life of wholeness does not depend on what we experience. Wholeness depends on how we experience our lives
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We are not responsible for what breaks us, but we can be responsible for what puts us back together again. Naming the hurt is how we begin to repair our broken parts.
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If you are setting out to be joyful you are not going to end up being joyful. You’re going to find yourself turned in on yourself. It’s like a flower. You open, you blossom, really because of other people.
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When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said “Let us pray.” We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.
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Dear Child of God, I am sorry to say that suffering is not optional.
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We must be ready to learn from one another, not claiming that we alone possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God.
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Out of the cacophony of random suffering and chaos that can mark human life, the life artist sees or creates a symphony of meaning and order.
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When we see others as separate, they become a threat. When we see others as part of us, as connected, as interdependent, then there is no challenge we cannot face—together.
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You show your humanity by how you see yourself not as apart from others but from your connection to others.
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Forgiveness is truly the grace by which we enable another person to get up, and get up with dignity, to begin anew.
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We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness. We are made for all of the beautiful things that you and I know.
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When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.
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If you want to keep people subjugated, the last thing you place in their hands is a Bible. There’s nothing more radical, nothing more revolutionary, nothing more subversive against injustice and oppression than the Bible.
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There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream to find out why they’re falling in.
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Forgiving is not forgetting; its actually remembering–remembering and not using your right to hit back. Its a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you dont want to repeat what happened.
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It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul.
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Life is more than breath and a heartbeat; meaning and purpose are the life of life.
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