Anger is never justified. ²Attack has no foundation. ³It is here escape from fear begins, and will be made complete. ⁴Here is the real world given in exchange for dreams of terror. ⁵For it is on this forgiveness rests, and is but natural. ⁶You are not asked to offer pardon where attack is due, and would be justified. ⁷For that would mean that you forgive a sin by overlooking what is really there. ⁸This is not pardon. ⁹For it would assume that, by responding in a way which is not justified, your pardon will become the answer to attack that has been made. ¹⁰And thus is pardon inappropriate, by being granted where it is not due.
Pardon is always justified. ²It has a sure foundation. ³You do not forgive the unforgivable, nor overlook a real attack that calls for punishment. ⁴Salvation does not lie in being asked to make unnatural responses which are inappropriate to what is real. ⁵Instead, it merely asks that you respond appropriately to what is not real by not perceiving what has not occurred. ⁶If pardon were unjustified, you would be asked to sacrifice your rights when you return forgiveness for attack. ⁷But you are merely asked to see forgiveness as the natural reaction to distress that rests on error, and thus calls for help. ⁸Forgiveness is the only sane response. ⁹It keeps your rights from being sacrificed.
This understanding is the only change that lets the real world rise to take the place of dreams of terror. (A Course in Miracles, T-30.VI.1:1–3:1. See also ACIM Text Made Simple.)
Whenever our peace is disturbed, whether it is a minor irritation or raging anger, we have given the ego control our mind. When we perceive the images of the world as real, it is inevitable that we will lose our peace. Harm or loss seem possible and if it seems to occur, defense is called for. It becomes an ongoing lifetime experience, repeated in myriad scenarios.
We cannot forgive as long as we believe what the ego tells us. The ego does not know how to truly forgive. No matter what tricks it tries, it will always make guilt seem real and justify attack. This is why we need to step back from the ego’s messages and call upon the Holy Spirit for help. He will help us learn to see the unreality of the forms that seem to disturb us. He will help us see the reality of Love’s oneness, which never changes. With His help, our minds will be restored to sanity. The means for true forgiveness is in our mind.
Today, whenever our mind is disturbed, we will remind ourselves that we can have peace instead of this. As we let ourselves relax into peace, we welcome the Holy Spirit’s help to forgive.
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