[BlueHair]

Originally Posted by YOhio

Good question Archaea. I think a lot of it has to do with human nature, as Indy pointed out. I think there is a little of the Prodigal son's unforgiving brother in a lot of us, especially on particular points of doctrine.

In my life I've had difficulty expressing compassion for a couple of reasons. First, if I'm being prideful. It's easy to lack compassion when you forget the source of your blessings. Second, if I've been taken advantage of in the past. For example, when I was in high school I lived in DC for a little while. While there I got in a fight with a homeless guy in an attempted mugging. It was a pretty frightening experience and I've had a difficult time finding compassion for homeless people, particularly panhandlers.

There are positive examples we can look to. I was very impressed with the attitude demonstrated by the Salt Lake man whose wife was recently killed by a drunk driver.

As Christopher Williams was being extricated from his overturned car onto a backboard to be taken to the hospital, he looked over at his vehicle and the car that had just crashed into him, killing his pregnant wife and two of his children.
It was at that moment Williams said he had a decision to make. That decision, he said, was to "unconditionally forgive" the person who had just caused the accident. By forgiving, Williams said the healing process could continue without being "hampered by another step."

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660195064,00.html

He's a better man than I am. I'd beat the driver to death with empty liquor bottles. It amazes me how many dumb asses continue to drink and drive.