C. S. Lewis from Mere Christianity:
“I am only trying to call attention to the fact that this year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practice ourselves the kind of behavior we expect from others. There may be all sorts of excuses for us. That time you were so unfair to ___ was when you were very tired. That slightly shady business about the money – the one you have almost forgotten – came when you were very hard up. And what you promised to do for ___ and have never done – well, you would never have promised if you had known how frightfully busy you were going to be. And as for your behavior to ___ or ___ if I knew how irritating they could be…. For you notice that it is only for our bad behavior that we find all these explanations. It is only our bad temper that we put down to being tired or worried or hungry; we put out good temper down to ourselves.”
A twist on the Golden Rule, a painful one – practice myself the kind of behavior I expect from others; accept their excuses as readily as I proffer and accept my own. Wait, it occurs to me that practice sounds suspiciously like “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.”
It occurs to me... 