There is a morning routine in our house. I'm sure there is one in yours also. Ours consists of prayer, coffee, cuddling, and blog writing on the laptop. We attempt to get the kids in and out of shower, fed, chores done, and ready for the school day. Its a process, that's for sure. The order of getting up in our house is usually Me, Crystal, Faith, and then Mr. Gabe.
Lately I've been going down to my office to write my blog because there are less distractions upstairs, but this morning I decided to sit in the living room.
This morning, when Faith got up, she was sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket and wanted some breakfast. She wanted bagels with some cream cheese on them. She got them, and sat on the couch, and began to eat.
I don't like kids sitting on couches eating anything. Especially not something creamy and sticky like cream cheese.
Gabe got up, came into the room and almost immediately commented that Faith was sitting on the couch eating, and he wasn't allowed to sit on the couch and eat. Out comes the famous sibling words- "its not fair". "why does SHE get to eat on the couch when I have sit at the TABLE"?
Then begins the process of convincing Mom and Dad all the reasons why sister should get off the couch and get at the table. From his perspective, the only viable outcome was that since he was unable to sit on the couch and eat, she shouldn't be able to sit on the couch and eat. It has to be fair.
Or does it?
I wonder what the conversation would have been like if He would have praised her for getting the special treatment and encouraging her to lavish in the opportunity to eat on the couch. Instead of trying to bring her away from what she was enjoying, to where he was where he wasn't enjoying himself, maybe he could have just said nothing and later regaled in the story of how they "got one over" on the 'rents and partook of the bagels on the comfy couch.
You and I know that rarely happens. With kids, or with adults, people always want things even. At work, at school, at home. Big or small, if there is any inclination that someone is getting even the slightest edge over us, we want to make sure that the treatment is equal and the same. No one should be able to do or have something that I am not able to do or have.
But here's the flip side- would my son have voluntarily removed himself from the couch for the sake of fairness? Or would he have been on the other side, declaring his right to sit on the couch?
What's my point today? People want judgement for others, and mercy for themselves and it starts as a child. However big or small, people are very keen seeing their own disadvantage and someone else's advantage, but not so much when the roles are reversed.
So what to do? Give other people the same level of grace and mercy you would want for yourself. In a real world application that would mean not reporting your co-worker who showed up to work 5 mins late when you did the same thing last week. It would mean not expecting more out of your spouse than what you expect out of yourself. It would mean when someone wrongs you, to extend the same grace that you would want if you had wronged someone else.
Its not easy, but I believe its what God calls us to do- Matthew 6:15 If you do not forgive others their sins, your father will not forgive your sins.
Chew on that today- toss out some mercy to someone and see how it works.
Be blessed
pastor matt
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