Points

Sometimes I don’t get it.  A message passes in and out without even registering.  I know I’m not stupid.  Somehow I loose the logic, even with simple stuff.  I’m not unusual.  On any given day anyone can loose track of the plot.  Even the ideas and conclusions we knew inside and out yesterday can become strangers.  Hmm…
 
What should I do with this?  Do I carry on, defensive in my forgetfulness, or take another track?  Is there room in this “must be perfect” or at least think I am world for those who acknowledge their weaknesses and mistakes?  Do we have a system of social justice so severe that one cannot take the risk of letting their true self be on display?
 
Yesterday a friend acknowledged he had weaknesses.  He went on to say he wasn’t mature enough to come out in the open with them.  What would life be like if we acknowledged we had weaknesses?  What if we understood with our hearts how our role within the community centered on lifting each other up when we were weak?  What if we all watched each other’s back?
 
There are two keys in this equation.  The first lies within; we need to see ourselves in truth and love.  At times it may take more than one round to get the point.  Even God had to repeat.  One writer records after “God's earlier Message on Moab.  God's updated Message is, ‘In three years, no longer than the term of an enlisted soldier, Moab's impressive presence will be gone, that splendid hot-air balloon will be punctured, and instead of a vigorous population, just a few shuffling bums cadging handouts.’”  (Isaiah 16.13, 14)  God summed up a long, extended attempt of making a point in a few short sentences.  You and I may be the same.
 
Second, we need to work within the community to change “who” we are from the inside out.  It all starts with how we treat each other.  Begin with building up, never tearing down.  Begin with giving encouragement, never in criticizing.  Begin in love