The Bill Principle
I had a classmate in elementary school named Bill.
Bill had a deep sense of fairness. If the teacher asked him to do something, his first question was usually, "Does everybody else have to do it too?"
I've smiled about that over the years because, if I'm honest, I still see a little of Bill in myself.
Especially when it comes to faith.
It's surprisingly easy to take something God is dealing with in my own heart and quietly assume everyone else should see it the same way.
There are truths in Scripture that are absolute. God drew those lines long before I came along, and they're not mine to erase.
Then there are the places where God presses on my own heart. Those are deeply personal. They shape my character, sharpen my obedience, and draw me closer to Him.
God has never left me unchanged. Every season, He puts His finger on something. If there isn't anything I'm surrendering these days, perhaps I'm not listening as closely as I think I am.
The danger comes when I mistake the way God is dealing with me for the way He must deal with everyone else.
Before long, I've started drawing lines God never asked me to draw.
God always begins with my own heart before He asks me to worry about someone else's.
When I begin using what God is teaching me to manage someone else's walk with Him, I've stepped beyond devotion and into control.
Jesus never manipulated people into following Him. He spoke truth without compromise, yet people were drawn to Him because compassion was always close behind.
Grace has a way of accomplishing what pressure never can.
The older I get, the more I realize my responsibility isn't to become the Holy Spirit in someone else's life.
It's simply to become more like Christ in my own.
📖 "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love."
Psalm 103:8 (NIV)
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