Beginning with Us

Author and Pastor Max Lucado once told a story about the day his wife brought home a monkey. His daughters were thrilled! But Max was not. He had all kinds of questions. Where was the monkey going to eat? His wife said that it was going to sit at the table and eat with them, just like the rest of the family. Then he asked where it was going to sleep? And she told him it was going to sleep in their bed. He followed up, “But what about the smell?” And she responded, “Oh Max, he’ll get used to you. I did.”

Lucado went on to reflect, “Before you comment on the odor of someone else, I guess we need to check our own odor first.”

This just reminds me that in our own relationships, when things aren’t going well, it is easy to point the finger. It is easy to lay the blame at their feet without ever looking at our own actions.

Jesus once said, “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? …first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”

We want others to love us unconditionally. We often need their forgiveness and grace. We appreciate it when they listen to us and care for us. May this way of being begin with us.

Let us pray: God of Grace, we give you thanks for those closest to us, our friends, our loved ones, our caregivers. Despite their flaws and imperfections, we love them deeply. Despite our flaws and imperfections, may they also love us deeply. Today, help us treat them with profound grace. If forgiveness or reconciliation needs to happen, give us the courage to be the first ones to make amends. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.