Back to the Beginning

Bible Reading: Romans 12:16-21

“What is wrong with this thing?” Morgan exclaimed. “These numbers won’t balance. Tomorrow when I turn in the treasurer’s report for our club, everyone will think I’m dumb—and Kimberly will be so happy!”

“Why would a mistake in your report make her happy?” asked Dad. “I thought you two were good friends.”

Morgan hesitated. “Well, we sort of had a disagreement. We both wanted to be the club treasurer. I got elected, but she still tried to tell me how to do the job. I finally informed her I’d do things my own way. We haven’t spoken to each other since.”

“That’s too bad.” Dad scanned over Morgan’s report and pointed to some numbers at the top of the page. “I think you need to start right back at the beginning and carefully add these again.”

Morgan sighed. “All right, but I don’t see how that will help. I used a calculator.” But she got busy and began checking her work. “I found my mistake, Dad!” she exclaimed after a few minutes. “At the beginning of this column, I subtracted one of the numbers instead of adding it.”

“You know, Morgan,” Dad said, “I think it would be a good idea to go back to the beginning of your problem with Kimberly too.”

“What do you mean?” Morgan asked.

“Think about when your problem began. Should you have done something differently? I agree it was wrong for Kimberly to try to take over the job you were elected for, but maybe there’s a part of the equation that’s missing.”

Morgan bit her lip. “Well, I may have told her I was elected because no one in the club liked her,” she replied. “It’s not true! But I was angry she was trying to do my job, so I said it because I knew it would hurt her.”

Dad pointed to Morgan’s treasury report. “Now that you’ve found the mistake in your report, you can fix it. And your friendship with Kimberly is like that too.”

“You mean, I need to tell her I’m sorry?” asked Morgan.

Dad nodded. “And tell Jesus you’re sorry too. He forgives us for all our sins, and He’ll help you right this wrong so you and Kimberly can be friends again.” • Jan L. Hansen

How About You?

Have you had a fight with someone? Is your relationship suffering because of it? Think back to what happened. Are you sure it was all that person’s fault—or did you say or do unkind things too? Ask Jesus to show you what you might have done wrong, then go to the other person and talk it over. Don’t carry old grudges. Admit your mistakes and forgive so your friendship can be restored.

Today’s Key Verse:
2 Timothy 2:24 A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all. (NKJV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Restore friendships