Trespassing

Posted by Kirsten Gibbs
Last updated 5th December 2022
reading time

  • Ever since I can remember, I've been intrigued by the use of the word 'trespass' in the King James version of the Lord's prayer - "forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us".

    Why not 'sin', 'wrongdoing', 'misbehaviour', 'offence', 'crime'?

    The word 'trespass' has a very specific meaning - to cross a boundary into a space that belongs to someone else.   So why pick this word?

    Perhaps because, in 1611, at the very dawn of capitalism, the authors wanted to remind us of the mutuality of our existence.   The fact that any rights we have as individuals must be bounded by the rights of others.

    I am free to do whatever I like, as long as that doesn't impinge on anyone else's right to do whatever they like.   Which means in practice, that I must constantly consider others, present and future, in everything I do.

    It seems to me that's as true of a business or organisation just as much as an individual.

    Trespassing Row 1 image
Subscribe
  • Choose one or more of the following options: