Grace Brings Out the Best

I remember going to my Scottish great aunt’s house for dinner. Whenever we came over, she prepared the most amazing food and served it on her finest china. I felt like royalty. As a result, I was on my best behavior.

Grace brings out the best in others.

If you treat people the way they deserve to be treated, you just get more of the same behavior.

If you treat people poorly, you invite them to become worse.

If you give grace, you nurture and bring out he best.

Without grace, we tend to…

• Enjoy listening to (or reading) a bad report about someone else.

• Predict someone’s failure.

• Separate ourselves from others, cutting them out of our lives.

• Judge people.

• Cut people down with harsh and unkind words.

• Speak cynically about people we don’t even know.

With grace, we…

• Have a big heart for others (including people who aren’t part of our “tribe”).

• See people the way God sees them – as his kids!

• Bless others (including people we disagree with or don’t understand).

• Speak graciously about people.

• Welcome and include people into our lives.

• Choose to believe the best, not the worst about others.

“Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.” – Colossians 4:5, 6 (The Message)

Grace brings out the best in others!