Taking the High Road….(not as easy as we may think)

We have all heard, and maybe even used, the phrase, “take the high road” which means to follow a course of action which is the most moral or most correct and which is least likely to harm or upset other people. When we are in situations where others’ behavior is such that we are tempted to act in the same way as those others are acting, taking the high road is often very difficult. Human nature often tends to want to respond in like kind.

Those taking the high road find it helps to create positive relationships and attracts others to them; it sets a positive agenda with others that even negative people find difficult to undermine. The low road damages relationships and alienates others. Those traveling that road may feel some sort of cosmic justice is being served, but only at the cost of community, relationships, trust, and influence.

Newscaster David Brinkley very wisely once said, “Successful persons are the ones who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at them.”

As Christians, we need to do our best to see situations for what they are, recognizing our own need for grace and then extending that grace to others; setting higher standards for ourselves than others would. This, as we all know, is not easy to do when in the midst of situations where others have taken a different path.

First Presbyterian Valpo has accepted the call to extend our grace to others through The Sharing Table Project. Our future is bright, and we are using new bricks, along with a few bricks thrown at us by others, to build our foundation for the future. It will create positive relationships and attract others who find the high road the right road to travel. {Jesus always traveled on that road.}

Blessings to all,

Jim Hubbard