Fingernails on Chalkboards

. . . We are throwing a Christmas party for 10 ex cons . . . a gift [we recently received] will allow us to have the kind of party they deserve . . .

It is almost enough to make you want to scream! Who deserves what? My response was simply:

I hope they (like we) realize they/we don't deserve anything!!!!!! Anything and everything we receive we receive by grace . . . Too many people think they deserve more than they have and thus are not thankful for what they do have.

4 ways to kill happiness? Feel you are:
entitled to . . .
owed . . .
indebted for . . .
deserving of . . .

1 foundation of happiness
THANKFULNESS

In spite of what Robert Schuller and other false prophets say, the problem is not "elevating" ex-cons (or anyone else), but having them see EVERYONE is evil, bad, lost -- without GRACE! We don't need to instill false pride in people but remember:

God GIVES grace to the humble.

And while we need to stay far from this left "ditch" of error, we likewise need to be careful not to (by reaction) fall into the right ditch of self-righteousness and self-sufficiency. NO one, today or yesterday, is/was in any sense self-sufficient − who can create the air we breath, the water we drink or the food we eat? Thus, the proper prayer (and understanding) should be:

GIVE us this day . . .

Think about what you say, so you don't hurt others' ears (or souls)!