There's so much good in the worst of us
And so much bad in the best of us
That it hardly behooves the most of us
To talk about the rest of us.
-- Author unknown

Your heart is like Italy, did you know that? (No, it is not shaped like a boot. Bad guess.)

Italy is a very young nation with a very old civilization, where people live in tiny apartments with huge dogs and narrow streets lead to enormous villas. It is a land of contrast and irony. We are often amazed and amused.

Italians think nothing of taking three hours to eat a meal, yet as soon as they get in their cars they must be across town in five minutes. They love fattening foods but somehow stay slender. They eat supper late but are up at work early. They wear practically nothing on the beach but at the first sign of a breeze put on heavy winter coats. They have very few children but dote endlessly on those they have. They see a lot of Mary but know little about Jesus.

Italians are scandalized if you handle grocery store fruit without first putting on plastic gloves, yet when the hospital nurses drew Jennifer's blood - even as they explained they were testing for AIDS and other diseases - they wore no gloves.

It is fun to watch and wonder at other people's inconsistencies, but do you see the connection to your heart? You and I are just like that. We are, each of us, a walking jumble of contradictions.

We love in ourselves what we hate in others. We say one thing and do another. When we mess up and are faced with the question, "Why did you do that?" like children we want to say, "I don't know." Even the apostle Paul, a great man in Christ, admitted that his spirit was often at war with itself.

What should we do?

Admit the truth. We are not "good people." Only God is good. We are sinners, saved by grace.

Go ahead and laugh at yourself. Others do. Yes, you are a mess, but so is everyone else.

Cling to Christ. A Cherokee chief counseled his grandson, "There are two wolves inside you, one good and the other bad, always fighting each other."

"Which one is strongest?" the boy asked.
"The one you feed," said the wise chief.

Paul wrote about the wolves. "Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." (Romans 13:14; see also Romans 6:15-23).

Give others a break. They struggle too. Put your energy into fighting or feeding your own inner wolves and you will have little left to judge others. And maybe the best way to help someone else is to let them see how you fight your wolves.

Which one will you feed today?

Gary and Jennifer Williams
Florence Bible School
Italy