Forgiveness in the Age of Rage
Reaction Sheet

This sheet is for your own use. It is not to be handed in or shown to others.

Briefly note your reaction to each of the following statements:

You can forgive if you want to, but you may need the energy from that anger as a motivator to seek empowerment.
I am willing to forgive, but only if he's really sorry.
I feel like I did forgive my employee for stealing, but I can't explain why I won't let her operate the cash register.
I wanted to forgive my dad for what he did, but I still can't bring myself to talk to him.
I told the teenager to forget it when he asked me to forgive him for stealing my car. I said, "Return the car first, butthead!"

How would you define forgiveness?
In your opinion, forgiveness is: (choose only one)
- Essential Always
- Fairly important usually
- Sometimes desirable
- Often a mistake

For each of the following pairs, can you explain any differences or relationships?