Grace and the Teenage Waitress

Something that has always bothered me is the hypocrisy that lurks in human nature. We are all guilty of this and can think of several times where we, in whatever capacity, "preach a sermon" if you will and then fail to "practice what we preach".

As an example, I particularly enjoy getting flipped off by a road raged induced 'crazy' person who...has a cross dangling from their rear view mirror. The other day, I was in traffic and I got cut off by a mini van that had a WWJD - what would Jesus do, bumper sticker. Here's one...how about the lady with the cross necklace who pushes you in Toys R Us so she can get the last toy that you've been waiting in line for over two hours to get and then smiles and says 'sorry' as she walks away. I know this sounds sorta funny and you're probably nodding your head and can think of at least one or two instances of this happening in your line of vision. I can think of this happening weekly and more than likely, daily.

The thing is, it's not worth getting mad about, but definitely worth reflecting over and giving it the appropriate little chuckle. At the end of the day, we are all these people. I can think of several times when I've done something just as, if not more hypocritical as above. You see, I'm not perfect. I'm flawed. There are things I do that I don't really know why I do them as I know they are bad but I do them anyway. Anyone else ever experience that? No? I beg to differ! Ever been on a diet and then some how, though you knew you shouldn't, you convinced yourself it was OK to eat that cookie because you could work out twice as hard tomorrow to burn it off? Or...I'll just eat this and I'll start my diet on Monday or after vacation?

My pastor gave a great sermon this morning about Grace. Grace, is God's love for us even though we don't always deserve it. He loves us anyway...even though we're not perfect. I think we ought to try to give ourselves this grace from time to time. Love yourself, your neighbor, your cranky in-law, that dog that keeps using your front lawn as an outhouse even though there is an empty field across the street (oh wait...that's me rambling again)...ANYWAY. There are going to be so many people who walk in and out of our lives who need our love, who need to be shown God's grace...even though they may not seem to deserve it.

So when you leave church and go out to lunch and you find yourself being rude to the 14 year old waitress who got your order wrong...remember to give her the grace that God gave you that morning when you were asking His forgiveness. Grace isn't just for the perfect person, or the perfect Christian...it's for everyone.

As my pastor said, God accepted all of us "AS IS". Which means, even with our flaws, we can't be returned and He wouldn't return us if He could. It's the Grace policy.