Relationships can be hard.

They can be hard on a good day, let alone a bad one. I doubt there’s a person on earth who hasn’t put their foot in their mouth, said something they regret, or did something they wish they could undo.

Yup, relationships are hard. So let’s not make them harder than they already are.

Like unfairly blaming people.

Collin Hansen writes: “We were born blamers.”* In other words, we can be quick to see other people’s faults (and point them out) and fail to see—or refuse to see—our own shortcomings.

In 1 Timothy 1:15 Paul says: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” Paul says he’s the worst sinner he knows. And he wrote books in the Bible and was one of the greatest missionaries the world has ever known!

And yet, he was able to see himself honestly and clearly. He knew he had fallen short of God’s ways, and had often missed the mark when it came to loving other people. 

As a result, he made an effort to be compassionate towards others.

We may be born blamers. But in Christ we are born again.

Let’s not make relationships harder than they already are.

When you are honest about your own shortcomings, you’re less likely to jump all over somebody else’s.

As a result, you’re more likely to cultivate a relationship of grace.

---

Notes:

–*Collin Hansen, Blind Spots (Crossway: Wheaton, 2015), 43.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.