Dear Mr. Spitzer,
There are probably no words that can adequately express the anguish you must be experiencing right about now. If you are a man with any level of conscience, as I suspect you to be, you are going through a period that one would not wish on one’s worst enemy. The only thing worse than the emotions you must surely be grappling with right now are the emotions and public humiliation your wife and children must also be dealing with.
Your downfall was certainly a crushing blow not only to your professional career but also to those who believed in you and worked with you as well as those who love you. There is hope, however, and this evidence is in your resignation announcement. You offered no excuses, you blamed no “conspiracy” other than your own, and rather than let this thing drag on you chose to do the right thing: spare the people of New York and step down. Yes sir, it was the right thing to do and you evidently know this.
Even in the midst of what has now certainly become a family crisis, there is still much to do and, frankly, it has little to do with the legal challenges you face. You stated yourself that you must take responsibility for your own actions, and indeed you must. It is written in the book of Matthew 5:25-26: “Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.”
I am the last one to be dispensing legal advice especially since you and your wife are both law-schooled enough for any situation. However, if you are truly willing to accept the consequences for your actions, rather than “lawyer up” you will choose instead to “man up”. Cooperate with the authorities. Do not waste resources trying to protect yourself and others because, you see, Mr. Spitzer, there is more at stake than you may realize. There is already damage done to your worldly relationships that will take time to mend, but perhaps more importantly than even these is the state of your eternal soul.
Rest assured, Mr. Spitzer, that those who piously claim that they would “never” do such a thing have problems of their own. You, on the other hand, have been granted a Divine Gift the likes of which many may never see because it is also written in the book of Hebrews 12:5-8: “You have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives’. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?”
To think that your life could have easily ended while in the bed of a woman other than your wife! Yet you have been called to account; you are therefore among the many blessed with such hope. My prayer is that you will be able to hear the Voice that is now calling to you to mend your ways, account for yourself, and cooperate with the proper authorities. Give them what they need just as you would have demanded as a prosecutor.
You will surely recall the story of King David and Bathsheba. King David might have skipped merrily along were it not for the Lord caring enough to send the prophet Samuel to him. Rather than work to make things easier for himself, David accepted what he had done and, like you, made no excuses. When he learned that the child born of this illicit union would die, King David fasted and prayed constantly. In the end, however, he accepted that the grief he would be forced to endure was his own to bear. Even after all this – and remember that King David was also responsible for the death of Bathsheba’s husband! – the Lord God still bestowed His favor on King David, but there was a price that had to be paid for his sins.
For the sake of teaching your own children about crime and consequences, personal responsibility and even theology, refusing to hire someone to testify in your behalf in an effort to preserve whatever may be left will also show them by an example not often seen in this nation, you will teach them that you are truly remorseful and willing to accept the consequences and teach them about what genuine justice really looks like. Surely as a prosecutor you must know that the system works better for those who hide nothing. Settling with your “adversary” before you are handed over to the judge will end this sooner so that restoration of those things much more important than your law license can begin in earnest because these things – your family and your soul – are surely worth more.
Keep your head up, Mr. Spitzer. Your dark past is exactly that: past. Assuming that the news reports are all true, you must surely have nothing much left to hide; everything has been illuminated. Your family needs you right now more than you may realize, and you cannot give them all that they need if you are consumed with saving your own skin. It is my humble opinion that if you follow biblical wisdom and be faithful in your prayers, this whole thing will turn out to be more of a blessing to you and to your family than you or they could possibly have fathomed. It will not be easy – nothing worthwhile ever really is – but it will be right and just and true.
All the best to you and yours,
Michael
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