Clean Up

The person covered in dirt is the one most in need of a bath. We don't stop washing our hands, our faces, our feet, ourselves out of fear that we might get dirty, again. Everything gets dirty, yet it's our commitment to removing the dirt from ourselves, to washing the dirt away, that should define our lives, not the moments we fall into the dirt.

As people of faith trying to live a life in harmony with scripture and prophetic character, one of the first things to be done away with is the All or Nothing attitude; believing that unless you are living the perfect life each and every day makes you are not a disbeliever, or that holding onto your identity as a person of faith despite your mistakes and shortcomings makes you a hypocrite. If this is how you think, you are defeated before you begin.

I personally know of people raised in believing families, who self identify--albeit in private--as Muslims or Christians, but publicly remain silent regarding their faith out of embarrassment over the current state of their lives. To me, the most important possession of any person of faith, is a deep core belief in the mercy of G-d. That mercy gives us the space we need to move from momentary failures to lasting successes. Accepting G-d's mercy in our own lives allows for our redemption when we have fallen.