Dear God,

We all sin, you created us and gave us the ability to do as we wish, even if it meant going against you. It’s exactly what we wanted, the ability to choose our path and what is best for ourselves. There’s just one issue, although we know we are imperfect and that we know we are going to mess up…

We hate when people correct us.

No one wants to be wrong, and no one wants to be corrected.

The whole concept of advising your brother and sister in faith is such a controversial topic because one first has to internally admit that they messed up, and then on top of that they have to be humble enough to accept the advice that most often times is being offered without request.

It isn’t easy for us to accept our faults and we have no problem telling off anyone that gives us unsolicited advice. We are independent, and our relationships, personalities, and choices are our own. We don’t care to have others involved in them unless we ask for their opinion.

We would much rather learn from our own mistakes than to have someone who has made them 100 times before help us avoid them.

But I often think, what if we as your creation could learn to humble ourselves and listen up? What if we could learn to swallow the pride that we don’t think we have and potentially listen to our elders, our peers, our scholars, our leaders, the random person we see on the street that saw us buying something that wasn’t healthy. What if the pride we swear we don’t have has become a road block between us reaching and understanding you?

What would life be like if we were just a bit more open to accepting the words of those that love us, or those that could come to love us if we opened the door to them when they come knocking?

Lord, allow our ears to be open to the words of our brothers and sisters. Enable us to discern the good from the bad and to never walk away from the advice of those around us. Rid us of pride and encourage us to learn from each other. Help us be a family.

Jumada Al Thani 27th, 1440
March 4th, 2019

Your servant,
Arthur K. Richards