Whenever conflict arose from a difference of opinion, I was quick to place the blame on the other person. It takes two hands to clap, after all. But beneath my inability to reach out first with an apology, there lay a quiet pride—the belief that I was right, and they were wrong.
Then, a verse struck me with sudden force, piercing through my stubborn heart:
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Col 3:13–14
When I thought of how God had forgiven my sins, I was ashamed of my arrogance. Who was I, after all, to be so proud? What made me so unwilling to yield? I want to change now. If I can approach others with a humble heart—willing to understand, willing to extend grace—then perhaps I, too, can be bound with the perfect cord of love.