re: For those on here that are Christian

I say this as a Christian:

It's easy to say "love your enemies" until you actually have one. I'm not talking about a person who annoys you, or somebody who did you wrong once or twice. A true enemy is someone who is actively working to make your life worse, and finding love for that sort of person is very, very hard.

Being able to truly forgive someone who deliberately did you real harm is also extremely difficult.

I think these teachings are at the heart of what it means to be a Christian, and I'm trying to follow those words, with God's help. I'm glad that my church has a liturgy that guides us to pray for our enemies. I'm also glad that we pray for our mayor, governor, and president every Sunday, regardless of who occupies those offices.

The priest told a funny story to go along with the lesson:

During the Korean war, some GIs' hired a Korean boy to tend to the barracks, clean, and cook.

The GI's would mess with him and one day nailed his shoe to the floor. He would laugh it off and just smile.

The next day, they stuck a pail of water above the door and as the boy walked through the door he was soaked with water. The boy just smiled and laughed with the soldiers.

The soldiers came to an agreement that the boy had such a great attitude and decided that they would never play any pranks on him again.

The next day, they told the boy that no longer would they be nailing his shoes to the floor, or placing pails of water above the door.

The boy said "Really? That's great. I will no longer be spitting in your soup."

Not much. I left church a few years back and keep getting further away. So much evil, I don’t understand why the bad seem to keep living and doing well and the good die. Falling into the animal welfare world has really made me hate people. There are monsters out there. I know…fallen world. But still.

It’s challenging and I choke on those words when I think of the people who have betrayed or mistreated me. I don’t want to forgive them.

I read most of that passage when I did my dad’s eulogy 8 years ago. He was the epitome of that chapter, to a fault if that’s possible. He forgave so many people who did him wrong in his life, beginning with my grandfather. He refused to hold a grudge.

I think it’s possible to marry the New Testament call to turn the other cheek and God’s wrath and desire for justice. Graciousness, charity and forbearance are virtues, of course. First Corinthians 13 tells us love is “not easily angered” and “keeps no record of wrongs.” But that doesn’t absolve someone from the consequences of their sins, be it against an individual or a collective nation.

I’m a Trump supporter. I think he’s been done grievous wrongs. While I want evildoers to pay for actual crimes and people to go to jail, I hope he holds to his promise that his vengeance will not be retribution, but massive success. That’s the ultimate stick in the eye of his enemies.