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I read Simon Wiesenthal’s “The Sunflower” about his hearing the confession of a dying Nazi soldier and how he turned around and walked out of the room after the man was finished.

Christians say God loves and forgives everyone and he was wrong not to have extended forgiveness. But the Jewish view maintains God’s power is not absolute. He can only forgive us for the sins we commit against Him. But people we have wronged, we must ask them to forgive us.

And that brings us to today. Would I be willing to forgive someone who tried to destroy my reputation? I have a good heart but I don’t see how they could repair the damage.

Maybe some things are beyond complete forgiveness.

It’s true. I understand now. I can’t imagine how much anger a situation like this can cause a person to feel. Trump has been dealing with so many lies as well. Forgiveness is possible by the grace of God. When he’s ready. It seems like he is surrounded by good and decent people. I pray that’s somewhat of a sanctuary for him.

I think the key is to personally rise above *caring* about hurts and resentments.

It's ridiculous to expect individuals to truly 'love' others by whom they have been horribly wronged. But I think we have a duty to exercise control over our own emotions, and distance ourselves from - somehow transmute - hatred, resentment. Those emotions do us no good, they only hurt us; and they don't even any score. Only God, through His law, evens scores, in His time and way.

I was very impressed by something I saw here the other day, an article by Andrew McCarthy in which he quoted a story that Judge Bork used to tell:

"As he viewed Thomas’ “high-tech lynching” in horror, Bork recalled, a friend of his, the iconic Irving Kristol, approached and asked him what was happening. “The end of civilization,” the judge sadly quipped.

“Of course it is,” Kristol deadpanned. “But it’ll take a long time. Meanwhile, it’s still possible to live well.”

Though I don't agree entirely with McCarthy's article, I find that story very meaningful.

https://nypost.com/2018/09/18/scrapping-kavanaughs-appointment-means-the-end-of-civilization/