There’s a trend going on in my life right now, and it’s this…God has been putting me constantly in situations where humility seems to be the lesson I most need to learn!  My goal is to allow the Lord to continue to grow and change me; but the speed with which He has answered lately has caused me on more than one occasion to be shocked at what He finds in my life and heart!

I have noticed as I get older that my frustration with wrong doing in others gets bigger and more pressing.  That’s not all bad, because I am quicker to stand up for truth and right now than I ever have been before.  The bad part of that is that I am also more judgmental and less gracious with those who are doing wrong than I used to be.

That being said, I was talking to a good friend the other day about something another person was doing in just flat out in rebellion of authority.  I laid out the situation, and among other things they told me this:  the best response I could have was to make sure I was not rebelling in any way either…so the accused, when confronted, would not be able to turn it right around on me.

Wow.  That hit me right upside the head, and I could clearly hear the voice of the Lord saying, “Listen, Beth, listen!”  And believe me, I was!  I thanked my friend and left..startled into realizing what he had just said.  In other words, I could be upset with the behavior that I thought was rebellious, but…!

And so I realized again, as I began to allow the Lord to examine my heart and life that the old saying is very true…if you concentrate on your own faults and fixing them, you will be too occupied to notice others’ faults.  I have spent the last few days in “fix” mode, and sure enough my frustration level has dropped.  My level of mercy has also increased, as I rejoice in the mercy God is showing me.

So what’s the point?  Just this:  the world we live in is a harsh and unforgiving place, and we are all tempted at times to “cut corners” on the truth, or to lash out at authority, in my person’s case, because we are feeling helpless in controlling so much in our lives.  Our response, as children of God, should be to point out error, but to do so with a heart of mercy, not anger, and to not allow others’ wrongs to distract us from our own!  To God be the glory as we represent Him every day!