{"id":2216,"date":"2012-02-14T21:46:04","date_gmt":"2012-02-15T01:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shieldsgroup.com\/?p=2216"},"modified":"2012-02-14T21:46:04","modified_gmt":"2012-02-15T01:46:04","slug":"the-need-for-grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shieldsgroup.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/14\/the-need-for-grace\/","title":{"rendered":"The Need for Grace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of the most emotionally healthy people I know<\/strong>\u00a0are by no means perfect.\u00a0And they do not live in a perfect world.\u00a0They are people who are imperfect, who know they are, and who have found grace in Christ so they can move past their own failings \u2014 so they can forgive themselves and let Christ change their hearts.\u00a0And they live among people who are imperfect.\u00a0So they show those people the same grace they have received.<\/p>\n

In contrast to this, some of the least emotionally stable people I know are those who beat themselves over the head for their failings because they cannot accept the grace God offers them.\u00a0And they don\u2019t pass such grace on to others \u2014 but instead they hold grudges, remember offenses, and keep accounts of grievances.<\/p>\n

They live by one of two errant equations<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

If\u00a0I am perfect, then I will be emotionally healthy.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s just plain wrong. Since you can\u2019t be perfect, you\u2019ll never be emotionally healthy as long as you hold to that paradigm.<\/p>\n

If the people around me were perfect, then I would be emotionally healthy.<\/em><\/p>\n

Wrong again.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll never find a perfect family, a perfect workplace, a perfect church, or a perfect neighborhood.\u00a0Those equations are just false.<\/p>\n

This sermon speaks to the universal need we have<\/strong>\u00a0for grace \u2014 the need both to receive and to give out grace.<\/p>\n