Wednesday; February 5

          We spend a lot of time in the religious world talking about how important it is to protect those who are the victims of social injustice and defending those who are falsely accused.  Yet, have you ever thought about our responsibilities to those who are paying a just price for the bad decisions they have made?  Whether it is the natural result of a sin they committed or the legal consequence of a crime they committed there are people who find themselves burdened by their own bad choices.  So, what do we do with them?  When Jesus told His disciples of their responsibility to visit those in prison (Matthew 25:36) and when He welcomed Peter back into His inner circle after he denied knowing Him in the midst of His greatest crisis, the Lord taught us about how far we should be willing to go to support people who messed up.
So, now that we see the need to be there for people, how do we do it?  Here are a few suggestions:
1.  Pray for them.  Our prayer may be for forgiveness, wisdom, honesty, relief – or a myriad of other things – but, when we seek the presence of God in the situation, we tap into a source of righteousness, clarity and comfort.
2.  Visit with them.  Just because we spend time with people in trouble doesn’t mean that we approve of their actions or endorse their choices.  Holding them accountable does not necessarily mean that we hold them at a distance.
3.  Forgive them.  When people do bad things, their most important need is for forgiveness.  Again, forgiving someone doesn’t mean that we condone their choice, in fact it is just the opposite.  We realize their sin, but are willing to do what we can to help them put it behind them.
          Helping people in self-created crisis can be tough.  As we work with people in this condition, let’s remember God’s promise, “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
          Think About It!

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