Some of the most emotionally healthy people I know are by no means perfect. And they do not live in a perfect world. They are people who are imperfect, who know they are, and who have found grace in Christ so they can move past their own failings — so they can forgive themselves and let Christ change their hearts. And they live among people who are imperfect. So they show those people the same grace they have received.

In contrast to this, some of the least emotionally stable people I know are those who beat themselves over the head for their failings because they cannot accept the grace God offers them. And they don’t pass such grace on to others — but instead they hold grudges, remember offenses, and keep accounts of grievances.

They live by one of two errant equations:

If I am perfect, then I will be emotionally healthy. 

That’s just plain wrong. Since you can’t be perfect, you’ll never be emotionally healthy as long as you hold to that paradigm.

If the people around me were perfect, then I would be emotionally healthy.

Wrong again.

You’ll never find a perfect family, a perfect workplace, a perfect church, or a perfect neighborhood. Those equations are just false.

This sermon speaks to the universal need we have for grace — the need both to receive and to give out grace.

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