Assuming the best of people.

One way that God's been shaping me over the past few years is how He's been helping me give people the benefit of the doubt - especially if it's my knee-jerk reaction to jump to conclusions or think the worst of someone. It's something that we do all the time but don't really acknowledge it, and it actually ends up causing a lot of problems.

This is something that really counts with the small things. I think a kind of logic that seems to be going on is that if I can practice patience for the small things, extending grace to others for bigger things will start to come more naturally. Forgiveness is one of those big ways of extending grace that isn't easy to do but God shows us and commands us to do again and again and again. So it's something I've been working on but it's also something that I've been more aware of in my surroundings. I've often prayed for more patience and grace, and since God has shown me time and time again of that patience and grace towards me, how could I not extend the same towards others?

How many times do we get annoyed at something someone did, assuming we know exactly what that person was thinking and why and under what circumstances they did what they did...without even talking to them about it?

I think when we assume the worst in someone right away, we jump on the opportunity to bring someone down and consequently lift ourselves up - and on top of that, we go to tell/complain to someone whom we expect to agree with us and affirm us in our accusation. What a prideful thing to do.

I get scared of people who often complain about others or hold such strong, negative opinions about others and their behavior because I believe that they could easily do the same thing about me. Why would I be an exception?

If you catch me on a rant of complaining about someone else, I give you full permission - in fact, I encourage you - to tell me to shut up. Firmly tell me to stop talking and either let it go or go talk directly to the person I'm whining about.

What kind of people would we look like if we all talked directly to one another instead of grumbling behind their backs?

I want to embody Christ's character...and I don't think I ever read about Him complaining to anyone else about anyone else in the Bible.