Uncle Jed's Motives

War is complex. Both sides have some "right" that they are fighting for - some cause for which they are willing to sacrifice. In Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder, you see the war from the perspective of a variety of different people and you find that things aren't as black and white as they might seem.

I found it interesting to read this book as I studied charity. Will made choices throughout the book with a variety of motives - often pride, sometimes duty, and towards the end of the book, he started to understand charity. I think this is because his Uncle Jed was a good example of someone who made his choices based on charity.

It made me think that when I have hard choices in life (as they did in the book), if I can remember to examine my heart to see if it is filled with charity, and that selfishness and pride are not present, then I can much more easily know what the best choice is to make. What may have seemed like a hard choice is much more simple when I examine the motive of why I am making it. Uncle Jed never seemed to doubt himself, even when most neighbors thought him a coward, because he knew his motives were right. He could proceed with confidence without having to question if he was doing the right thing.

I want to proceed with confidence that am making the right choices too. I am going to try to remember to examine my motives to be sure my heart is right so I can feel peace about my choices. Unfortunately, I know that this will often mean letting go of what I want and of my pride.

One of my favorite parts:

Uncle Jed came out of the barn and said, "You look like you,be got a belly ache." Will smiled ruefully. "That's probably because I've had to swallow my pride so many times today." 

Things went uphill for Will after that :-) I must dig out that pride to make room for charity. Too bad digging is uncomfortable and sometimes painful, but I know it is absolutely worth it.