Worthington’s “injustice gap” via experiential theory is an examination of a crack established after one’s personal sense of safety has been violated. To enumerate, once an individual becomes a victim from the act of another person, a wedge is now created between the two parties. Once people (aka the public or even a circle of friends) through gossip receive word about the events that took place the “injustice gap” grows by others choosing sides. This happens in all walks of life. The Holy Bible commands that we utilize “decisional forgiveness” along with “emotional forgiveness” to complete the process of forgiving entirely. It is important to recognize that “decisional forgiveness” and “emotional forgiveness” are not two separate entities under Christ because both fall under what God the Father calls us to do which is be obedient. Both of these elements of forgiving are more like steps which God commands that we “BECHRISTLIKE” in all facets of life. We are to obey him. To take this a step further, a sound contention can be made that the act of forgiving truly mimics the Holy Trinity established with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In order to forgive, we need to heal physically, spiritually, and emotionally, and the Holy Trinity of God helps in all those areas.

Shifting slightly, understanding how the “injustice gap” functions (aka how the Devil operates) in terms of forgiving others we begin to see how the Lord gives us a heightened awareness of sin. In the previous paragraph it is noted that, once an individual becomes a victim from the act of another person a wedge is now created between two parties. Think of the Garden of Eden. We are all victims because we all possess a sinful nature. Once we realize this we also realize God’s forgiveness. He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. John 3:16 (The King James Version) states, “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”(Holy Bible ). God the Father saw that we were all victims of sin, and gave his Son to die for us all. This is the ultimate act of forgiveness. Looking at the life of Christ, we can see that He was obedient to His Father and He listened to His Father. This is what He expects of us as well.

Ultimately, reminding ourselves that we are all victims to sin bring self-awareness that could serve a person’s ability to forgive their spouse. Additionally, this heightened self-awareness of being victims of sin challenges us to view what our identities are with the Lord at any given time. Am I being Christ-like? Am I the branch growing from His vine? Am I centered on Christ? These questions also challenge key points of resistance walls one might throw up which would hinder the process of forgiveness between spouses. Friedrich Nietzsche stated, “Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed.”(Goodreads Nietzsche Quotes ) When this quote is applied to the lives of human beings, it holds weight because we constantly lie to ourselves through pride and blame. How many times have we heard people say, “I not guilty of this” or I blame society or xyz because of________”? This is the Devil working through the “injustice gap” already established in our sinful nature between man and God. Upon final examination, let’s look at this “injustice gap” another way. Picture an armored vest. Once the integrity of the vest has been damaged via a piercing bullet, a window of opportunity is established for weakness to become exploited. We see this in sports also. Teams will constantly try to exploit the weakness of their opponents by creating “gaps” or mismatches. This is how the Devil comes in between our relationships with Christ and others also. The gap of sinful nature is already present, and often times our own subjective truth blinds us from Christ. In the book of Matthew chapter 14 verses 21-31, we learn “how Christ walked on the water, and Peter attempted to follow Him. When Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, he fell into the water, begging for Christ to help him”(Holy Bible ). The same logic applies to us as well. Keep our eyes on the Lord and He will help us forgive in way which glorifies Him.

Works Cited

“Goodreads Nietzsche Quotes .” 2018. Goodreads . https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/12799-sometimes-people-don-t-want-to-hear-the-truth-because-they.

Holy Bible . Thomas Nelson Publishers , 1997.