When We Don't Know the Whole Story

I’m so relieved the NBA Finals are finally over. It caused a bit of marital tension in our home that I didn’t expect. Ben, my husband, was rooting for the Toronto Raptors because two of our former Spurs’ players, Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard, are Raptors now. Ben couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t want to cheer for them. To me, it was obvious. I still had some leftover feelings about the trade that went down last year. I just couldn’t!

It’s hard to forget the drama that ensued with Kawhi’s injury over the course of last year. Of course, there are many who think the Spurs organization made mistakes in how they handled the situation. All I know is that there were hard feelings all around and a whole lot of gossip about what people thought happened.

When we don’t know the whole story, we can be so quick to judge. We decide to fill in the story line with the narrative we prefer. We may think we understand, but often times, we don’t. As much as I love the Spurs, I really don’t know what happened. So, how can I judge one way or another?

Do you judge a person prematurely, not knowing the whole story? I didn’t see my Kawhi-judgment in full light until I saw the actions of my husband. He let it go. He wanted the best for Kawhi. He saw through the mess and saw him for the great player he was. Ben said to me “I don’t know what happened, but what I do know is that Coach Pop hugged him at the end of the Raptor-Spurs game. No matter what happened, it tells me he’s still worth hugging.”

God loves when we see the best in others! God asks us to be free of judgment and look for the good in others. Do you have someone you judge that you’re unwilling to hug and make things right? Go ahead. Initiate. Give them a hug…..and let it go. Forgiveness is a beautiful thing.

“Jesus, free us from defensiveness that sabotages our repentance, excuse-making that keeps us strangers to your grace, and blaming others when we should be humbling ourselves.” @ScottyWardSmith

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:!-2

“If we are going to love one another more, we will have to love ourselves less, protect our interests less, demand a hearing less, worry about how we look less. Our sense of urgency will flip upside down, as we get busy looking out for one another.”  @Rayortland

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.