Extending Grace to Ourselves

I recommend that you read "Balmanza"'s comment on my last post -- "Knee Deep in Prayer." Great story!

What is it about how we tend to punish ourselves when we do something wrong? I have a bad habit of what my wife calls "self-castigation." It happened again this morning. Noticing that I was late getting to work, I tried to carry a glass, empty bowl of cereal, a plate and my coffee mug from the bathroom to the kitchen sink. As I started to place all these items on the counter, the plate slipped out of my hand and shattered on the floor. This made me even later...and mad at myself for trying to do too much at once.

The same thing happened a week or so ago when I lost an envelope of money with about $20 in it. After going back to the two stores where I had been, then scouring through my truck looking in every nook and cranny, I found nothing. When I got home that night I told Susan how stupid I had been in losing that money. Susan, in the grace-filled way she is, said, "Jim, it's only $20. Please don't punish yourself over a few lost dollars."

Do you struggle like I do being pretty good at extending grace to others and then being so hard on yourself when you fail, when you sin? Why do we do this? Is it a desire to be perfect? (which is so unrealistic) Do we want to put on this image before others that we appear to have it all together (which is so prideful)?

Jesus isn't hard on His children. He doesn't punish us at our slightest step out of bounds. He doesn't shame us for not having it all together. Though He does not approve of our sin, He continues to wash us clean and accept us because of His amazing love and His atoning sacrifice for our sins. He has taken care of the punishment of our sins on the cross. So we certainly don't need to try to atone for our sins through self-punishment.

I guess I need to keep believing that my Savior, my Father, my friend continues extending grace to me, His beloved child...and that He loves for me to not only give grace to others but accept it for myself.

And I just have a feeling that when we let those around us see that we're not hard on ourselves, that we accept the fact that we're imperfect, and that even as a saved person we still sin some and yet trust in His forgiveness, we're letting them see a powerful witness to the grace of God found solely in Christ.