We're All in This Together

Isolation

Do you ever feel like you’re the only person who messes things up the way you mess things up? Everyone around you seems to have it all together. And here you are, bungling life at every turn. That sense of being the only ones to fail can get in the way of accepting ourselves. It can make contentment with ourselves close to impossible.

As often as culture can be blamed for some of our problems, this is one of the areas where it has moved in a positive direction in recent years. Authenticity and transparency are buzz words today. And this means that people feel freer to admit their failings and shortcomings. Granted, we also get to see a little bit too much of some people’s dirty laundry. But on the whole, people don't work as hard to hide their every fault.

Why is this good? Because it breaks that isolation. For example, in my mom circles there's a certain sense of relief that comes when another mom admits to a failing, such as yelling at her kids. We all think, aha! I'm not the only one. Suddenly we’re not alone. And we don’t feel so messed up. We're reminded once again that we are, after all, human.

Does this absolve us from doing wrong? Absolutely not! But it does free us from the oppression of guilt. And more importantly, it gives us the proper perspective. Only God is perfect. And while we're encouraged by Scripture to "be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48), admitting our imperfection also means admitting we can't do this on our own. And neither can anyone else around us. As human beings, we’re all in this together.

The next time you're tempted to come down on yourself for messing things up, remember that you are human. Remember that we all mess up. We're all in need of forgiveness. Acknowledge that it comes with being a clay-footed being. And see if that doesn't stir you to a greater sense of acceptance of who you are (even as it also stirs in you a longing for a day when sin will be past).