Believing the best

Michael Hyatt had an interesting post today about his commitments to Barack Obama. One of the things he talked about was assuming Obama's motives were good. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a good friend a couple of months ago. She said that she felt convicted over the fact that she's becoming more jaded. One of the things she felt like the Holy Spirit was telling her was that she needed to start believing the best of people again.

Believing the best of people...

I have to admit, I tend to believe the worst of people. Not so much that I listen to rumors and negativity, but I tend to assume that their motivations are bad.

As I think about my enemies, I wonder if part of the problem is my negative assumptions. Do I believe the best or worst of them? Am I setting them up for failure because I'm not even giving them a chance?

Are they my enemies because I want them to be my enemies?

I started to think more about this, and wondered where God might fit in to this. Does he believe the best or the worst of us? I have to think that because He knows everything about us, and loves us anyway, that He must believe the best of us. Despite all of our badness, He still sees something in us to love.

Lord, help me to believe the best. To see people as you see them. I have to think that if you can love the worst of sinners, it is because you believe the best in them. And maybe, if I can learn to believe the best in my enemies, I could find a way to love them, too.