← Forgiveness
Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I don't tell you until seven times, but until seventy times seven."
Seventy times seven
Peter thinks he is being generous. Seven is a complete number; seven pardons is a lot. And Jesus takes the number and breaks it, because forgiveness that keeps count is not forgiveness yet, only a ledger with a generous limit.
Four hundred and ninety is a way of saying: stop counting. The practice of forgiveness is a settled disposition rather than a series of decisions, a mind that has decided in advance not to carry the weight. That mind is lighter. It sleeps better. It fasts more easily, because resentment is a kind of hunger too.
Practice
When a grievance surfaces today, notice the counting — "again," "how many times." Then say inwardly: "No count." Let the tally go.
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