...and you're gettin' there fast.
Recently I've been thinking about the following belief that I hear being passed around by people whose minor screw-ups have left them feeling down, or who have given in to a rekindled old flame, or who made good on a broken promise, or whatever: that everyone deserves a second chance. While I definitely see where this kind of thinking comes from, and I cannot refute the belief that, at times, second chances can be warranted and make all the difference, I have to ultimately disagree. Not everyone deserves a second chance. In fact, I think that most people don't deserve a second chance, and it's a mistake to just hand them out for free.
Second chances, like everything else in this life, should be earned.
Sure, sometimes people screw up and it's either a mistake or the product of some kind of unalterable unfortunate circumstance that causes that person to act outside of his or her normal range of behavior. Even in this case, the mistake should not be overlooked. If someone wrongs you, they're certainly capable of doing it again. Suppose that same circumstance arises again. Will that person a.) learn from his or her mistake, correct it, and respond accordingly, or b.) allow that unfortunate circumstance to again dictate a harmful response or action? How the person responds to this criteria should dictate whether or not the second chance be granted.
I know that life is a long time, and nobody's perfect, but just as those good seeds who work hard to correct mistakes and improve themselves day-to-day who deserve every opportunity to succeed and atone past sins, there are those who will simply take advantage of each opportunity that is presented unearned, who do not deserve these second chances.
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