Building One Another  

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. I Thessalonians 5:11

When Building People is EGR (Extra Grace Required)!

Dear Friend

Reflecting on the wonder of the phrase “love covers,” as in love covers a multitude of sins and irritations and aggravations, I am reminded of the term EGR.

EGR, for Extra Grace Required, was coined by pastor Dale Galloway to give us a way to think about the challenging people in our lives. Joyce Landorf’s book “Irregular People” addresses the same kinds of people situations.

As you work through an EGR situation (knowing in humility we, ourselves, may well be EGR to others), consider these questions:

1.    Where do I get the extra grace?

2.    Who are my Yokefellows?

3.    How do I renew myself?

4.    How do I expand the caring and coping base?

5.    How do I respond to false guilt?

6.    What boundaries do I keep and is there a time to disengage?

Notice these questions are not about the EGR person or situation but they are about YOU and how you respond to the situation. Lee Zehmer and I address these questions in Episode 167 of the podcast BuildingOneAnother.com

Just remember, the love of Jesus especially covers us with his amazing extra and extraordinary grace!

Love covers!

Joy to you – Stan  

‍© Copyright 2024 E. Stanley Ott

Scripture from the ESV

‍

1. Think of an EGR person in your life - family, work, neighborhood, church and so on. How did you handle the situation? Could you have shown more grace? and in what ways?
2. Talk through your responses to these questions, preferably with a few others, so that you may learn from one another
   1. Where do I get the extra grace?
   2. Who are my Yokefellows?
   3. How do I renew myself?
   4. How do I expand the caring and coping base?
   5. How do I respond to false guilt?
   6. What boundaries do I keep and is there a time to disengage?
3. Thank of that EGR person in your life again? In light of these six questions, what will do you differently?
4. Don't forget, the grace of Jesus is both extra grace and extraordinary grace, so rely on him as THE source of your extra grace for others!

Picture from Unsplash: getty-images-_4N5mGCIaWQ-unsplash.