Looking For The Good

Looking for the Good

Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32

My friend and I used the same doctor to assess our children’s asthma, and each of us came out with a completely different experience. She found the doctor to be belligerent and smug, unwilling to listen to her. My family’s experience was the complete opposite: the doctor found what others had missed among my daughter’s breathing problems and treated her with compassion, encouraging her and giving her hope for better health. I wondered, Whose opinion of this doctor was more correct?

Some time later, another friend and I were talking about a mutual acquaintance who, from her perspective, had been harsh and uncaring toward another. While I could see how this person could respond in such a way, I knew that she also had the personality to vehemently defend things and people she believed in. She was a fighter. Again, I asked myself, Whose assessment of this person is more correct?

I believe the answer lies in the fact that each of us was equally fair in our evaluation and each opinion was equally correct. Who of us is completely good and right all the time? None of us, unfortunately. Who of us is mean spirited, smug, or incorrect in word or deed? All of us, at times. The truth is that we can be all these things—kind one day, unkind the next. Forgiving in one instance, holding a grudge in another. Although it is easy to find fault in others, how much better would it be to look for the good in those around us?

When we are faced with unpleasant people, we have a choice: we can be kind and compassionate, forgiving them as we remember how Christ forgave us, or we can hang on to anger and bitterness. Although healthy boundaries may need to be put in place so we do not allow ourselves to continually be hurt by another, we ultimately have the choice to forgive and move on.

—Kendra

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Instead of retaliating when someone has been unkind to you, choose to respond with kindness, remembering the times when you have acted out of character and needed some grace.