Need Grace?

While watching a social experiment video I was totally sucked in. A man was dropping his wallet to see if people would return it.

Most did.

But this one guy picked up the wallet and put it in his pocket.

He then proceeded to go shopping!

He bought shoes and clothing using a credit card.

I’m thinking, What a criminal! This is an example of what’s wrong with our world today. Let’s see what else this guy buys.

With every purchase I became more aggravated. We’ve all heard the identity theft stories. My husband and I had to cancel one of our credit cards last week because of suspicion activity.

Stealing is WRONG people. Get a job!!!

Then the thief on the shopping spree stopped to look over the wallet. He pulled out the driver’s license from the wallet.

One of the commentators on the video said, “Let’s go confront him now.”

But the owner of the wallet responded, “No let’s watch a little longer.”

With bags of new shoes and clothes the “bandit” started walking.

He stopped at a house and knocked on the front door.

It was the address on the driver’s license from the dropped wallet.

At this point I’m thinking, Oh after your shopping spree NOW you are going to return the wallet! What a scumbag!

It was time for the wallet owner to confront the thief. This is how I remember it:

“Hey, can I help you? This is my house.”

“Here, I found this wallet.”

“I’ve been following you and you used my credit card to buy all that stuff.”

“No, I used my credit card.”

“Really? You have a Chase credit card?”

“Yes.”

“Can I see it?”

“Sure.”

I’m thinking, BUSTED!

And the “thief” pulls out his OWN Chase credit card!

Whoa! I didn’t see that coming! He’s not a thief after all and even though he didn’t have a car he walked to return the wallet! He’s NOT a scumbag! 

The wallet owner gave the Good Samaritan $100. He initially refused the money but took it after the other guy insisted.

Oh, now he’s a Good Samaritan. Just seconds ago you were calling this upstanding guy a scumbag. How quickly you jump to conclusions. 

You really need to give people a little more grace. 

Obviously, this got me thinking. Why is it that I jump to the worst conclusions? I think it would be wise to change this kind of thought pattern. Don’t you? Wouldn’t it be better to think the best of people until we have all the facts? Why am I so quick to go to the dark side before all the facts are in?

Step away from negative thinking. 

This is my new quest: to think more optimistically about people even when it looks like I have justification to think negatively.

What if we applied this to our family?

What if we always…and I mean always…all the time…always…thought positively about our spouse giving them the benefit of the doubt in all things.

As in, if they forget to take care of something—they had a good reason.

They say something to hurt our feelings—they didn’t mean to.

They leave a mess for us to clean up—they lost track of time and had to run out because they didn’t plan well but really did intend to take care of it. Really they did! (Okay, I’m talking about me here.)

You get the idea.

And with our kids, what if we did the same? What if we sought to understand where they were coming from instead of thinking the worst scenario? What if we got all the facts before we jumped to conclusions? Disrespectful attitudes, poor grades, and not doing what was asked can be viewed through an entirely different lens.

I’d rather err on the side of grace.

Wouldn’t you?

Final point:

What if we allowed for grace and thought good before we made adverse conclusions?

What would that look like in your life?

This could change our overall love for others. This could assist us in becoming more like Christ. It would most certainly help us keep a positive attitude and overall demeanor.

The result would be more joy and better relationships. 

Has there ever been a time where you jumped to wrong conclusions before you had all the facts?