Now, what's YOUR story?

 Stacey’s story:

Stacey pivoted out of her Audi in the reserved stall, grabbed her leather attaché and quickly navigated the short walk across the parking lot.  The tall gleaming office building always reminded her of the remarkable climb she had made to the executive wing and a seat at the table of influence and respect. 

She arrived at the heavy glass doors just behind a man about her age, dressed in the business casual attire typical of the growing stream of employees flowing into the building.  He opened the door wide and stepped back.  He smiled, and gestured for her to walk in ahead of him.

Stacey brushed past briskly with her eyes on the elevator, but then suddenly stopped and turned on the man.  “I’ll bet you only opened the door because I’m a woman,” she blurted out.

The man’s pleasant expression and move toward the interior of the building clearly signaled that he was not looking for a confrontation.  He smiled and replied, “No, no.  I didn’t open the door because you’re a woman, I opened it because I was taught to be a gentleman.  “But,” he continued, “if you were offended, I apologize.”

Stacey felt a little awkward even though the encounter was brief.  She muttered a, “Well . . . thanks,” under her breath and with a tone even she couldn’t quite interpret.

Later in the day, Stacey felt a rumble in her stomach that she couldn’t ignore, even though she rarely took time for lunch.  When she found her administrative assistant away from the desk, she decided to stretch her legs and make her way down to grab a sandwich from the cafeteria herself. 

Just as she was entering the hall, she spotted him.  That guy.  He was in a group of four, just getting up from their table.  She picked the egg salad sandwich she knew she would only eat two bites of and watched as the group began to leave—the remnants of their lunch still on the table.  That guy quickly piled all of their trash onto his tray and without saying a word moved into step behind them and deposited it into the receptacle as they passed out of the cafeteria.  Stacey saw him give a thumbs up and a smile to the wait staff as he left.  “That guy!”

In the afternoon meeting Stacey got caught off guard by the CFO’s questions.  Uncharacteristically, she found herself looking less than brilliant.  The fault was hers, but thinking quickly, she transferred the blame to lower-level management and nobly took responsibility for not holding their feet to the fire.  “I’ll make sure they know they’ve got to do better.”  She meant it.

Driving home that evening, Stacey replayed the boardroom exchange in her mind.  That could have been a significant ding in her reputation, and she wasn’t completely sure she had dodged the bullet.  Her face flushed a little.  Did she sound strong or had she wavered?  Funny thing, when she searched her memory for approval in the faces of those gathered around the table that afternoon—there he was.  That guy! 

(the idea for this story came from an anecdote in Think, Act, Believe Like Jesus, p. 198) 

The story of us all:

Jesus was the very model of grace.  As followers of Jesus, we take our cues from him rather than react with the world.  Giving grace is more important than saving face.  We are empowered to demonstrate forgiveness, mercy and generosity to others, even when they have offended us. 

One important Scripture:

1 Thessalonians 5:15 (ESV) 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 

Your own story:  You’ve heard Stacey’s story, you know the story of us all.  Now, let’s talk!  

• Can you remember a time when you were the recipient of generous grace?
• Are you afraid you will be taken advantage of if you consistently extend grace to others?
• Do you find it difficult to be gracious in your first impressions of people?
• What does grace look like when you are in a position where you also have to hold people accountable for their actions?
• What is the motivation for grace and kindness and goodness?  Is it sheer discipline or something more?
• What sets you up to be un-gracious?