Extend Your Hand For Balance

Hey team. So, here we are again, moving right through this month of May. I saw this quote and it got me thinking about a couple of different things, so I wanted to share it with you.

It says, “When you see a man stumble, when you see someone stumble, don’t extend your finger to point. Extend your hand to assess your own balance.”

It reminds me of a situation that happened back in the early ’90s. A good friend of mine and I were working with youth, and we took a group of young men and women Christmas shopping at Lloyd Center. We were living in Hood River at the time. Karen and I were driving one van full of kids, and my good friend Scott was driving the other van with his wife and another group of kids.

We drove all the way from Hood River and got into the Lloyd Center area near the parking lot. I saw my buddy Scott in the van, and he was driving straight at a light pole in the parking lot. I thought, “What the heck is he doing?” I figured he was probably joking around and going to swerve, just playing with the kids. But unfortunately, he didn’t.

Instead, he slammed right into the pole—hard. He hit it at about 25 miles an hour. If there had been airbags back then, he would have deployed them for sure. Some of the kids were joking with him, but I could tell it was a tough moment for Scott.

Someone asked me, “Chad, you haven’t made fun of Scott at all.” A couple of the other leaders had joked and poked fun. I said, “No, I’m not going to make fun of Scott. Because next week, it might be me.”

My point is, extend your hand to gain your own balance. When you see someone else make a mistake or do something wrong, don’t laugh at them. Don’t point fingers, don’t call out their faults. Don’t you think they already have enough trouble?

Think about yourself. How many times have you had something go wrong and beat yourself up over it? Sometimes we are our own worst enemies. What we really need is encouragement. What we could use is someone to come alongside us and help us in that process, in that time.

I would much rather be that person—the one who is understanding, uplifting, and encouraging. And at the same time, I recognize that I need to make sure I maintain balance in my own life. That I don’t go down the road and make the same mistake someone else made.

For every person I’ve ever heard say, “Well, I’ll never do that”—be careful. Because sometimes, not only do you end up doing that, but you do it worse. There’s a saying that’s been going around the last few years. When you see someone make a mistake and someone else does something worse, it’s like they just said, “Hold my beer.” That’s what it’s talking about. It’s like, “No, I can double down on the stupid you just did.”

And I know that I have the capacity to double down on someone else’s mistake and do it worse. So, I’d rather check myself. Make sure I have balance in my life. Make sure I’m not about to fall and stumble in the same way—or worse.

Again, I’d rather be an encourager, an uplifter in people’s lives.

So for you, this wonderful week, moving through this wonderful month and the rest of 2025—be an encourager. Don’t point fingers at others who are making mistakes. Gain your balance. Use caution not to fall into the same patterns or mistakes you’ve seen in others.

Be the person who uplifts, encourages, and helps others through their times of trouble. They’re already beating themselves up for the mistake they made. Don’t add to it. Don’t heap extra weight onto their shoulders.

All right, God bless you guys. You have a wonderful week. I’ll see you next week.