Divine Imperatives September 1 Devotional

MATTHEW 6:25-26 | ²⁵ Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

The alternatives to reconciling are not great, even apart from the psychic burden of brokenness. At the very least, relationships become less trusting and more complicated. Wariness creeps in and there is a reluctance to be vulnerable or to embrace intimate levels of sharing and communication. The upside potential of friendships is sacrificed.

At worst, there can be a disastrous downside! Relationships can sour and become directly confrontational. Zero sum thinking can take over, along with the desire to win or punish someone. Legal and public conflict can aid a layer of costs, to bank accounts and reputations. Risks of penalties and permanent scars and rifts can heighten.

Have you ever been under pressure from an accuser?

Gracious God,

Help me remember the risks of unreconciled relationships. Keep me away from revenge scenarios and zero sum confrontations. May I seek the win-win of reconciliation.

Amen.