The Benefit of Grace

My favorite hobby is being a USA Swimming official. Yes, swim meets really do last forever. No, it's usually not the official's fault that it goes so long. Our most important motto in swim officiating is "the benefit of the doubt always goes to the swimmer." Translated onto the deck it means this:

• If you have to think about what you saw, don't make a call
• If you don't raise your hand immediately (probably because you thought about it), don't make a call
• If you raise your hand for a possible disqualification (it's not a DQ until the referee accepts it and signs the form) and then wonder if you really saw something, put your hand back down
• If your description isn't consistent when interviewed by the Chief Judge or Referee, it will be overturned

In God's Kingdom it's not about doubt but about grace. I've applied this philosophy to Kingdom living a couple of different ways:

• In our relationships, perhaps especially marriage give the benefit of grace
  
• In our Christian living, especially in our relationship to God and grace, be God centered not rule centered. A swim official could be rule centered, i.e. looking for ways to disqualify swimmers. Or that official can be swimmer centered, i.e. looking for ways to keep the swimmer in the water but making sure it's fair to the other swimmers that they are in the water

I've been doing some thinking around this "giving the benefit of grace" way of living. We human beings don't do it very well. I'm not positive I know where this human tendency comes from, other than in general "from sin." But I know it's there. I see it in myself. I experience it from others.

It happens when we don't hear what we want to hear and blame the other person for "having it out for us." It happens when we thought one thing was going to happen and when it didn't we believe it was the other person who promised something and didn't follow through - when what really happened was a misunderstanding. We don't give the benefit of grace to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Instead we question their integrity or character.

When we think one thing and the other person thinks something else, could it be a misunderstanding - a miscommunication - instead of a lack of character or integrity?

When someone doesn't greet us is it because they were trying to avoid us or could it be they didn't see us?

When someone seems aloof - deep in thought - while standing there talking with us - is it because they don't care or could it be they are hurting or emotionally exhausted?

Do you see the difference? Now that I write it I see a possible specific sin root:

• me centered v other centered living - if something goes differently than I thought or hoped it would and it's about me, then you are wrong - if on the other hand it's about you then there must have been a misunderstanding or miscommunication

Maybe that's it. Kingdom living is about the King. Kingdom living is about serving others not ourselves. The benefit of grace is a Kingdom principle. Believing that God always has our best interest at heart, that He's always working things for our good - that's God's grace and our giving Him the benefit of the doubt in the face of what seems like contradictory evidence. While it may be a little harder to believe that other sinful human beings have our best interest at heart and not their own, as Christ-followers that's what we're called to do - I think. Believe in people like God believes in us. That's the Body of Christ at work.