People are doing the best they can

August 11, 2023

People are doing the best they can

I admit I used to scoff at this idea. When I’d hear it, I’d be reminded of Edward James Olmos, in Stand and Deliver, when his character (Jamie Escalante) was before the school board asking for more funding:

School Board Member: “Mr. Escalante, we’re doing our best.”

Jamie Escalante: “Well, your best isn’t good enough!”

I hear “People are doing the best they can” as an excuse.

And sometime it is.

But it’s often not.

Often, people are literally doing everything they know to do and they are doing it as well as they know how.

And things still aren’t working.

What’s our responsibility in that moment?

Quick Hits

Posted by:

Landon Whitsitt

One response to “People are doing the best they can”

James Wendelken

August 11, 2023 at 3:27 pm

Are you speaking of our personal responsibility when situations or relational issues seem not to be going well? Contrasting with our responsibility as physician, friend, parent, partner, spouse, counselor or pastor.

Generally, the response requires empathy but, depending on the situation the response
“ doing the best they (or I) know how” has to be viewed in a variety of ways. The responsibility of the response can be personal or interactional.

My thought is “ thing’s going poorly “with personal/ intimate issues need our personal understanding of one’s part in the negative process. Thinking about things not going well with out our understanding of the personal responsibility even though deluding oneself into believing one was doing the best one could seems to me to be a self serving solace. My observation is we many times need help, spiritually and with clarity of understanding . The personal role is to seek help with a discerning evaluation of the problem.
We as partner, family, friend, colleague, counselor, pastor or physician need to help with kindness, clarity of understanding the situation with out judgement. Specific advice rendered when appropriately timed.

Just some rambling thoughts. J

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About Me

My name is Landon Whitsitt. I live in Oklahoma City. I have a wife, four kids, and two dogs.

I’m a pastor and a speaker. I’m a writer and a thinker. I’m a photographer and musician.

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