echurch

written by Stephan Joubert

You’re only as good as your last move on the chess board of life. Rugby players are assessed on Mondays based on their game the previous Saturday. Preachers are evaluated based on their last sermon. A writer’s most-recent book determines his success. Ditto for an actor’s performance in his latest movie. This is not the way things should be. We should give each other more chances than just the last thing we did. The latest controversial thing someone did should never overshadow all the good things that he or she has done, especially not between friends.

We can’t live with such short-term memories when it comes to the integrity of others. We shouldn’t dare write each other off or move each other aside based on something that didn’t impress us. The Lord’s love causes us to always start over and afresh with each other. We should believe and expect the best of each other as 1 Corinthians 13 teaches.

Our last move is never the only move in the eyes of our friends and fellow-believers. It’s about a whole lifetime of integrity before God and others. Our whole lives tell our story instead of only one or two recent, foolish acts.

We as believers should refuse to measure people by the same standards that the rest of society measures them by. God expects us not to live with a judgmental attitude. That’s not on. We are called not to judge, but to accept, to write off mistakes, and to love.

Prayer guidelines

In your prayers this week, focus on all the good gifts that God invested in your friends. Thank the Lord for his goodness in their lives. Ask Him to make you blind for their latest, and previous, mistakes.