Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
6/10/2026
It’s Not So Funny
I was thinking the other day about how funny people can be. Not funny in a humorous way. Funny in a revealing way.
Funny how small our sins seem, but how big their sins are.
Funny how we demand justice when someone hurts us, but expect mercy when we are the ones who have done the hurting.
Funny how indignant we become when we are offended, yet when we offend someone else, we just want them to “let it go” and move on.
Funny how loud we can be when we’ve been wronged, but how much gentleness, understanding, patience, and grace we expect when we are the offender.
The truth is, most of us are experts at seeing the faults of others and amateurs at seeing our own.
Jesus addressed this very thing when He asked, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)…..Ouch.
That one doesn’t leave much room to wiggle.
We live in a world that has become highly skilled at pointing fingers. Social media thrives on it. News channels profit from it. Conversations often revolve around what “they” are doing wrong. Yet God continually turns the mirror back toward us.
What about your heart? What about your attitude? What about your words?
Funny how we will take directions from a complete stranger when we are lost on the highway, but hesitate when God gives direction for our lives through His Word.
Funny how desperately we want God to answer our prayers, but often have little interest in listening to His counsel.
Funny how we sing about heaven on Sunday and then spend the rest of the week living as though this world is all there is.
Maybe that is why James asks such piercing questions:
“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” (James 4:1).
James doesn’t blame culture. He doesn’t blame politics. He doesn’t blame difficult people. He points directly to the battlefield within the human heart.
That is uncomfortable because it means the problem may not always be out there. Sometimes the problem is right here.
Inside me….Inside you….Inside all of us.
Proverbs gives wisdom that is almost impossible to practice when emotions are running hot: “A soft answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1). Yet how often do we choose the sharp answer, the sarcastic answer, the answer that wins the moment but wounds the relationship?
The older I get, the more I realize that grace is easiest to admire and hardest to extend. I love God’s grace when it is flowing toward me. I struggle more when He asks me to let it flow through me toward someone who hurt me.
But then I remember the cross.
I remember that every scar Jesus carried was earned by someone else. I remember that the mercy I enjoy was purchased at a price I could never pay. And suddenly my offenses seem smaller in the shadow of His sacrifice. Perhaps the real miracle of grace is not that God forgives sinners. Perhaps the greater miracle is that forgiven sinners learn how to forgive.
So today, before we focus on someone else’s failure, maybe we should spend a few moments with our own heart. Before we demand justice, maybe we should remember mercy. Before we rehearse someone else’s offense, maybe we should remember our own. It’s funny how often we need grace. It’s not so funny how rarely we give it away.
Lord, help me to be gracious and kind. Show me Your grace so I can be forgiving. Show me Your scars so I might humble myself before You. Lord, let me see Your face more clearly than I see the faults of others. And in seeing You, make me more like You. Amen.
“What part of this hit home for you this morning? What are you carrying today that needs prayer? If you’d like, send me a prayer request here. Let’s invite the Holy Spirit in together. (where two are gathered.) You are not walking alone. Just hit reply…
I read every response.”
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Riley Clemmons – Broken Prayers
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