:: inamirrordimly :: A theology and culture blog with the Bible in one tab and a news feed in the other.

Last week I uncovered the secret behind a local scandal of sorts: the kind of thing that you long to know, the kind of thing that changes your perception of several key people in your town. One who is far worse than you thought, and one who moves from villain to hero.

I’ll have to leave things hopelessly vague, lest I fall into the gossip trap, and leave it at this: a guy was talking on his cell phone in a public place–let’s say in line at a supermarket–and he unfolded the whole story of the local scandal as a backdrop to his own situation regarding his family. I tried to mind my own business, but he was talking rather loudly. The more he talked, the more my ears perked up.

My mind raced through all of the people who needed to hear about this. They would be shocked at how grievously they had misjudged the two main characters in this story. In fact, I would be doing one of the main characters a real service by helping his reputation.

Of course then I had that sinking realization that these are actual people with real tragedies going through all of this. And beyond the juicy gossip of my inside scoop, there was a family suffering. And even more so, I’ve gone through much of what this person described.

Could God have placed me right there just so this family would have someone praying for them during this week, this very difficult week in their family?

I was ashamed that I even considered passing along his story just to fan the flames of a local scandal a bit. And so right then and there I began praying for that man and his family. He comes to mind every day since, and so I pray for them, knowing that I am glad those days in my own family are behind me.

And if praying wasn’t enough of a help, at the end of his conversation he talked about another situation he was working through, and it just so happened that I knew of someone who could help him. So when he tucked his phone away, I jotted the information down on a card, walked over to him and said, “I’m sorry to have listened to your conversation, but I think this may help you…”

Vermont Public Radio just happened to be in the midst of a pledge drive right around the time that former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was found out to be a hypocrite who not only was a client of the prostitution rings he prosecuted, but also paid for these flings by using a method of payment that he helped crack down on. I ended up listening to the Upstate New York station that was embroiled in Spitzer’s ordeal.

So here is what I learned: His basic plan was to make large payments–such as $4500 for a prostitute–in several smaller transfers. This is supposed to keep large amounts of money from popping under the radar of certain software that looks for fraud and corruption. Of course Spitzer should have know that these same computer programs look for these smaller transactions as well, and that of course is how he was found out.

At this point in my life, we’re not exactly rich, but we do have to keep an eye on our account balance during the beginning of the month because our mortgage payment is taken from our account on the first of the month. This means I need to be careful not to pay all of our other bills at the same time, and so I pay extra attention to our account balance at this time of the month.

Since I planned on going grocery shopping this afternoon, being the member of our household who works in town, I looked up our latest statement online and noticed something that didn’t quite look right: a series of transactions, all for the same amount, all going to the same place that I didn’t recognize.

Spitzer! I thought.

The very same kind of fraud Spitzer fought and then used to his own advantage had been used on us on a very small scale. Thankfully everything is going to work out and my card has been canceled. However, if it had not been for Eliot Spitzer, I may have questioned my hunch that this was a scam. Perhaps I just paid a bill and it got applied in a strange way?

No siree!  Thanks to Spitzer I spotted a fraud and quickly took action.

Thanks Eliot!

I’ve been wondering what exactly is going on behind the scene with the Spitzers, which really is none of my business, but you can’t help wondering what the heck his wife Silda is thinking right now. The New York Times has an interesting article revealing some of the contours of the Spitzer marriage, particularly that Eliot never forgot to be grateful for the sacrifices she has made for his career.

I think this provides a more humanizing element to this situation that will help us pray for them as a family, even as the former governor must clean up the mess he has made.

The recent scandal involving Eliot Spitzer’s patronage of a prostitute across state lines, one of the very things he built his career on fighting, raises some important principles as Republicans and some Democrats in New York state call for his resignation. I’m reminded of the words of Jesus here:

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 NIV

The New Yorkers I’ve listened to don’t believe a man who spent his career going for the tough, high-profile convictions without mercy should be given the same treatment, especially since he was caught by the very systems he put into place as attorney general. Spitzer is no doubt going to be wishing he’d been a bit more conciliatory with his colleagues as the controversy continues to swirl. It’s a lesson we best learn from. Far from gloating over how the mighty have fallen, we all face similar circumstances where we can choose mercy or at least use that softer touch with people who rub us the wrong way.

And if we’ve learned a little lesson for ourselves here, what of Governor (or former Governor perhaps) Spitzer? Is there grace and mercy for him?

On one level there are consequences for his actions, but I also think we can truly pity this man who poured his energies into self-promotion, self-deception, and now self-destruction. Whether or not he is truly repentant or can be trusted in the future remains to be seen. However, the Old Testament is full of stories where God forgives and even restores rulers willing to confess their sins and humble themselves before the Lord.

I don’t know if that will happen with Spitzer, but I can’t help seeing a real tragedy here involving a human being and his family who are being picked apart not only all over America, but all over the world. As Spitzer made his superhuman frown during his brief press conference, his wife seemed on the verge of breaking down. Even if the person is prideful and vindictive, it’s never a good thing to watch someone fall. The question is, will there be a chance for redemption?

Technorati Tags: Spitzer - governor - new+york

Can I just say that it’s hard to have compassion sometimes?

Compassion is more than just feeling sorry for someone. There are two movements to compassion: shared sorrow and then shared action.

It’s defined as “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.”

Even if the action we take to alleviate suffering goes no further than prayer, sometimes it is really hard to have compassion. People get under our skin, rankle us, offend us, inconvenience us… And thus the compassion runs dry.

Perhaps my kind of compassion is circumstantial compassion: I’ll have compassion if I deem it appropriate, if you haven’t annoyed me too much, if I think you’re worth it.

Did I just say all of that?

Sometimes I think I’m a lost cause.

Of course the universal human problem is navel gazing, a kind of near-sighted view of the world where the only things that matter are right in front of me, close to me, and within my realm of concern. What a horribly crippling, useless way to live, but there you have it. I’m so focused on my needs, my feelings, my reactions that I forget people out there really need me to pray, to act, to care, to forget about myself for just…one…minute.

But I’m SO important!!!

And if that is my line of thinking, existence becomes hardly bearable. Misery swoops in like a cold pelting rain. Everything is perceived as an attack on my happiness and position, everything ruins MY life, and everything revolves around me to the point that death seems like the worst possible thing because I will be removed from this world that is so deeply invested in me.

Suddenly, compassion doesn’t sound so bad after all.

Sometimes we need to just get a thought out there. We toss it up for grabs and sometimes people catch on and run with it. Other times the idea hits the ground with a thud.

Throwing out a half-baked or simplistic idea on a blog is often labeled a “Musing” or “Thought.” In fact, I have a whole category on this blog called “Thoughts” because, ya know, sometimes I just think of things to share and don’t quite know where they fit.

Sometimes that flies. Sometimes that really can work for a blog. In fact, Musings may be one of the most popular words used in blog titles.

But are these generalizations, these simple, unembellished thoughts and musings just a sign that I as a writer am acknowledging my lack of creativity, my inability to sit and think of where my post fits into common knowledge, and just how exactly I can label it for the benefit of my readers?

I can’t speak for anyone but myself–and I’m really not opposed to bloggers using the word “musings.” I have found lately, as I have less and less time and brain capacity to blog (until that blessed February writing deadline hits that is), that I want to just drop an idea out there, call it a musing, and hit “Publish.”

Reading that paragraph, I’m thinking, “Wow, that is really lazy. That just doesn’t fly.”

Part of writing is the title and the category. I hate both of these. I just want to slap something simple and accurate into the title and click on the “thoughts” category. Thoughts can be categorized in any number of ways, and a good post needs a catchy, concise, and accurate title. Readers need some simple category clues to sort information. These things just make blog posts more accessible and valuable.

Of course these are just my own half-baked musings on titles and categories.

Perhaps I should make a new category “hypocrisy.”