It is very difficult for many people to ask forgiveness. I find it almost impossible to admit that I said or did something wrong, or to admit that I handled a situation badly. My knee-jerk reaction is to absolutely defend what I did. In fact, the harder and faster I run to defend something I did, this can be a tell-tale sign that my conscience is bugging me and that deep inside I realize I was wrong.
A really horrible thing is that many years after a particular wrongdoing, I see that I may have significantly damaged someone through my ill words. In cases like this, it is often not only impossible to find the victims of my wrongdoing, but even those that I can track down, how do I bring up the ugliness of what I did?
You see there is a flip side of the coin: Admitting that an injury occurred, that there is something here that needs to be forgiven is just as difficult. Once the perpetrator of the wrong has become aware of it and desires to clear the air, a really sensitive part of it is that the injured party, before saying "I forgive you", is having to admit, "Yes, you really hurt me, there is something here that needs forgiveness."
Pride is such a treacherous thing! Because just as hard as it is to overcome the desire to defend a wrong committed, it can be equally hard to admit to someone that they had the power to hurt you.
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