Give Me a Break

Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.

-- Ephesians 4:32

Ever consider that it’s our friends and family — not strangers — who tend to give us a hard time?

The late President George H.W. Bush once reminisced that his son, George, had visited the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, and made the unforgivable mistake of resting his feet on the coffee table.

“George Bush, you get your feet off the furniture!” demanded his feisty

mother, Barbara.

“For goodness sake, Barbara,” responded Bush’s elderly father. “He’s the President of the United States.”

“I don’t care who he is,” she answered. “It’s still my coffee table.”

How right Jesus was when he observed that prophets are honored everywhere: except in their hometowns, with their own people and in their own homes!

Joseph, one of God’s great servants of Old Testament times, would identify with this awkward fact of life. He was by far his father’s favorite son. And one day, his jealous brothers decided to get rid of him by selling him into slavery — and blaming a wild animal for his demise. But God had a different plan. Years later, faithful Joseph had impressed his Egyptian captors to the point that they appointed him to the second-highest post in the land. 

When famine swept over the region, Joseph planned wisely to ensure that the people had enough grain to eat. Meanwhile, unaware that their sibling was still alive — much less a high-ranking government official — Joseph’s brothers traveled from Canaan to Egypt in search of food. Joseph put them through several arduous tests before finally revealing his identity. And he could have had his revenge by enslaving his brothers or even putting them to death. But he instead repaid them with a heartfelt invitation to bring their father, livestock and servants to live with him in his adopted land of plenty.

Christ-followers are also called to shun revenge and show kindness. And many times we do respond to crises by giving to strangers whom we’ll never meet. It might be a famine victim in Africa, an earthquake survivor in Central America or an evacuee from a California wildfire. But there are also those certain people who live down the street, next door or even in the next room.

They’re your friends and family — the ones who tend to give you a hard time.

“Don't ever forget kindness and truth,” the author of Proverbs tells us. “Wear them like a necklace. Write them on your heart as if on a tablet.”

God has given us more breaks than we can count — and we certainly didn’t deserve them. So be sure to share a few with others. We don’t have to look far for those who need them the most.