Looking for the Best Interpretation

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement

Looking for the Best Interpretation

A young couple was walking their dog. In spite of his leash, the dog lunged toward a passing neighbor’s dog also leashed. No one was hurt but the neighbor felt seriously threatened enough to report the not-quite-an-incident to the apartment management. Thereafter, every time she saw this couple walking their dog, she reported to the apartment complex’s management how threatened she felt even without an incident. The woman was scared and furious. The couple in her apartment building took a number of steps to try to allay the woman’s concerns, culminating in their finally moving to another apartment farther away. Out of sight, conflict resolved. Life is full of opportunities to become upset with one another. Have you ever experienced someone snatching up the last big sale item just as you reached for it? Did you ever wonder if you were purposely left out of the invitation list for a party? We are regularly challenged with situations that genuinely look bad for someone with whom we have close, or not so close, relationship.

In spite of our best intentions, interactions with people can challenge our reactions. The secret weapon of relationships is focusing on the best in others and this approach is always available to us. However, we have to set our hearts and minds on God in order to follow through with our intentions to look for the best in others. I Corinthians 1:5 NAS gives us directions. (Love) “does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered.”

Sometimes, giving the other person the benefit of the doubt is hard. Sometimes we don’t stop for a moment to look for the best interpretation of another’s words or actions. We have a choice to take offense or to choose the interpretation that leads to the most generous route of accepting the other’s actions or words in the most favorable light. Maybe the person has a headache, or maybe a spouse yelled at them this morning. What are the rewards for making the effort? We experience greater peace and happiness if we master the art of searching out the best aspects in people and ignoring their failings whenever possible. If we are less critical of others, we find we are less likely to be overly sensitive and defensive about our own behavior, hoping for the same mercy of judgment from others. Taking less offense means a happier you. As the old saying goes, imagine yourself ‘wearing the same moccasins’, in other words, having suffered the same difficulties in life as the offending person. Ask God to give you insights on the background that causes a person to respond to life the way they do. Pray for God to help others with the changes they could benefit from; BUT, at the same time, lets’ ask God to help us change any characteristics we have that make us abrasive. God can open our eyes to find compassion instead of offense whenever we ask. Peace of heart is the result.