Immanuel Kant was one of the greatest European philosophers. Yet even his brilliant mind found it hard to cope with the reality of human shortcomings. There’s a wistful line in his journal which simply said, ‘Remember to forget Lampe.’ Lampe was his manservant who had been with him for decades and the old philosopher had come to depend on him. But then he discovered Lampe had been systematically robbing him for years, and so he dismissed him. But despite this, he missed his old companion and couldn’t bear the thought of his betrayal; hence his journal entry, Remember to forget Lampe.’
There are times when we also need to remember to forget; particularly when we are being eaten up inside by what someone has done to us. It’s not easy to do and we often need a strength beyond our own. Jesus said you’ll get it if you ‘pray for those who treat you badly.’