THE WORST PERSON I KNOW

By Michael Perkins: I understand that we all deserve second chances. I preach about it on Sundays.

So why is it so hard to give this one guy I know a second chance?

To say that he is the worst person I’ve ever met would probably be an understatement. Every day I think about the things I’ve seen him do and I become angry.

• I’ve seen him lie to make himself look better.
• I’ve seen him tell women the things they wanted to hear just so he could have sex with them.
• I’ve seen him look away when his brother was getting bullied because he has a condition that doesn’t allow him to grow hair.
• I’ve seen him ignore the homeless man needing money and then brag about how generous he is.
• I’ve seen him harbor anger and unforgiveness by clinging to the past.

You would think that people would hate him because of all the horrible things that he has done, right? But that couldn’t be any further from the truth.

He is loved. He has received second chance after second chance after second chance.

And that makes absolutely no sense because he’s a wretched excuse of a human being.

But I have a confession to make. This man is me.

It’s easy for me to see the transgressions and ugliness. Those are obvious. The easy route would be for me to condemn myself as a lost cause. Or maybe pity myself for being stuck the way I am. I’ve felt like doing that more times than I can rememeber.

But to do that would be to waste all the second chances I’ve received throughout my life. There’s beauty in the restoration I’ve been afforded by others, and I can’t neglect it any longer.

Pity, shame, condemnation, regret ... all wrong. I wasn’t made for that. I was made for something more; for something greater. And so were you.

So...

It’s time to let go.

It’s time to move on.

It’s time to give myself a second chance.

Will you do the same?