Grace. Why is it so hard to dispense? Why are we so
hesitant to give grace to ourselves? Rather than being free and open with the greatest gift ever, we act like misers and ration off the tiniest bits of grace that we can. It’s like we fear grace has a limit. Careful or you’ll use it all!
I just finished reading Mike Foster‘s new book, Gracenomics, and it was one of the most down-to-earth, nakedly honest books that I’ve read this year. Foster shares parts of his story that highlight his mistakes, pulling no punches when it comes to the details. From being offended to being the offender, Foster shares some of the darkest times for him spiritually. Everything from screw-ups with the LPA to financial trouble, Foster’s story could read like a Murphy’s Law of mistakes.
Enter Gracenomics, according to Foster, “the science that deals with the production, distribution and consumption of grace.” We love receiving grace but when it comes to releasing it to others, we can be pretty stingy, at best. Grace for your friends? Fairly easy, depending on what happened. Grace for the “grace killers”, the less-than-gracious? Not so fast. Gracenomics starts the work to even out the disparity.
Foster made a point that stuck out to me. He said, “Let your mind brush over the parts of your story you wish never happened.” That hits close to home for me. How many of us have taken a part, maybe even a whole stage of our life, and locked it away because we wish it had never happened? Gracenomics is about handing over the key to that locked closet and rolling out a catwalk for your past mistakes, f-ugly and all, because sometimes the people we need to give grace to the most is ourselves.
Gracenomics is a well-written, easy read. From a design perspective, it has an incredible artistic layout, which is to be expected from Foster and his crew at PlainJoe Studios. Foster provides readers with the framework for scandalous dispensing of second chances, the practical application of Gracenomics.
If you’re finding yourself running on empty in the area of grace, pick up a copy of Gracenomics and let it change how you dispense grace. It releases on October 6th at Catalyst in Atlanta and online at People of the Second Chance (purchase book here). Be about second chances, give more grace, buy this book.