Encouragement 4 The Day: "There but for the Grace of God go I"

So I haven’t written in a while but there are times when you come across information so profound that you either must share it or risk suffering an aneurysm from the information overload. I tried hard to suppress the urge to write this (laziness) but I just couldn’t.

Such a moment occurred this evening as I was watching the show on Hulu “Secrets of Your Mind” and in this episode they examined the brains of killers in an effort to answer the question “Why?” Towards the end of the segment, they interviewed Dr. James Fallon who for years studied the brain of serial killers and due to the prompting of his mother, not only discovered a direct paternal lineage of serial killers, but also discovered that his brain and genetic wiring reflected that of a killer. The only explanation that he could offer as to why he had not killed or even physically harmed anyone was this-He grew up in a loving and supportive family!

I had to hit the pause button because I really needed to digest this information. Here was a neuroscientist whose brain (and they showed the scans) indicated that he really should have been a serial killer but to his friends and family he was a ‘gentle soul’.

Two profound lessons:

1.       When we are tempted to judge others or to state “I would never do that” OR “Well, I was abused too and I never turned out that way” remember “There but for the grace of God go I!”

See, we truly do not know what we are capable of until we find ourselves in certain situations. So, it behooves us not to judge as only God knows the hearts of men and when we do not understand-PRAY.

2.      “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” I Peter 4:8.

A lot of “Christians” are quick to criticize ministers who preach a love message often stating that in doing so, they are condoning sin. I will stand behind my belief that:

Love will convict the heart faster than any message of hellfire and damnation.

Too often, Christians try to do the convicting work of the Holy Spirit while neglecting their duties of extending love to their fellow man. If this story is not the ultimate example of that then I don’t know what is.

Is it easy? No it isn’t, but when tempted to judge I try to remember:

                                                                 “There but for the grace of God go I.”