How many times have you heard someone accused of "selective hearing"?  Selective hearing is when someone seems to hear only what they want to hear, the rest of the time they have a hearing problem!

What's even more common is selective memory.  Selective memory is when someone with an agenda only recalls what another has done that fits the picture of that other, that the original person is trying to paint.  Everything else that "doesn't fit", is ignored or discounted.  For instance, if you want to prove that Mr. Smith is a bad person with no redeeming qualities, his work with lepers and orphans is either not mentioned in any of your conversations OR it is brushed aside as meaningless.  Sound familiar?

The truth is that everybody has good points, and everybody has short comings; we've all made mistakes, some we learn from, others that we repeat.  Each of us can tell our stories in such a way that only our good points are acknowledged.  Each of us can also have our stories told in such a way that accentuates only our mistakes and short comings.  In Psalm 25:6&7, the Psalmist asks God to have selective memory.  There God is asked to forget the author's short comings and to remember God's mercy!  That's chutzpah!  (For those who don't know, chutzpah is a Yiddish word that means nerve or gall.  A person with chutzpah is one who is convicted of murdering both of his or her parents in cold blood, but at sentencing asks the court for mercy saying; "after all, remember, I'm an orphan!")

So, why is this Good News?  Because it tells me that God loves every part of us; our good parts and our less than perfect parts!  And God's mercy is remembered, not instead of, but alongside of our short comings!  None of us is perfect and none of us has to be for God to love us.  God doesn't have to love our sin or sinfulness, to still love us who are sinners.  It's been said that Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven.  I know I am FAR from perfect.  My hope is that when people see my imperfections, it can become a means of grace for them; if Pastor can make mistakes and God still loves him, then maybe God will love me too, even if I'm not perfect!