Doing the Best We Can
I have always believed that you and I do the best we can 'given our information'. Our information includes who we are - upbringing, DNA, education, family background, etc.
If we could do better, we would.
Recently, a member of Faith sent me a quote from Stanford University neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky (2013):
"But if you devote your time to thinking about what the brain, hormones, genes, evolution, childhood, fetal environment, and so on, have to do with behavior, as I do, it seems simply impossible to think that there is free will."
While I am not ready to go as far as Dr. Sapolsky on the 'free will' argument, his words remind me of that old saying 'to know all is to forgive all'. Although we can never condone wrong behavior - if we really knew/understand who a person is, might we be more understanding, more accepting, yes, even more forgiving of one-another?
God 'knows' us and gives us grace; and while we can never 'know' another as we are known, perhaps we can give others the benefit of the doubt and also extend grace. Something to think about.
In faith,
Pastor Tim
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