What is Wrong with People Sometimes?

“Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”

~ T.H. Thompson

The roads were packed … and I do mean packed.  Everyone was in a mad rush to reach their destination, seeming to pull each of us like a magnet.  I wasn’t even on the expressway yet, and sadly, the flow surrounding the two lights before the on-ramp was moving at glacial speed.  Really?  It’s going to take me three lights to make it through this intersection!?  I just couldn’t wrap my head around what was taking so long.  Regardless, I tried to remind myself that an extra fifteen minutes wasn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things.  Chill out, Alicia.

Not only were we not moving, but neither were the people waiting to vacate the gas station just before the first light.  Poor chaps had been waiting forever; so despite my tardiness and the fact that I’d probably have to sit through yet another light, I waved in the young guy eagerly waiting to join the rush leading absolutely nowhere.

And there it was–or wasn’t, rather.  Nothing.  No hand wave indicating a thank you.  No head nod of appreciation.  Sheesh.  What is wrong with people sometimes?  Can’t a girl get a thank you?  Clearly my need to relax was in full affect.

*             *             *

I’m not proud to admit it, but on occasion, the bad attitude described above has taken over.   Does this situation sound familiar?  Or perhaps you can recall a time when you were juuust about to pull into that parking space you’d been waiting five minutes for when a little compact car swooped in at the last second to steal it?

It can be so easy to unintentionally leave our patience, empathy, consideration, or appreciation at home.  Later, I kick myself, knowing that the words in the quote above are 100 percent true.  Whether each of us knows it or not, we are all fighting a battle: with a friend, with a loved one, with our health … even with ourselves.

We are all going through something.  Sometimes, we play a large role in moving life’s chess pieces.  Yet, sometimes things happen that are beyond our control.  We become confused.  We become frustrated.  We become bitter.  We have trouble seeing past what we’re dealing with at any given moment.  And yes, we may forget to send up a hand-wave toward a stranger who was kind.  We may lose our tempers a little more quickly.  We may make hurtful comments that we truly didn’t mean.  It could happen to anyone, and in fact, it probably has happened to everyone.

Let’s not add to the fray in each other’s lives.  In moments comparable to my traffic-jam predicament, it’s not about us.  It wasn’t about me and my need to get to work.  It was about the lesson: the lesson to recognize a small splinter from a possible 2X4.  I may have endured the itty bitty splinter, but that young man may have been carrying a 2X4.

Undeserved Mercy

Mr. Himmler was our Old Testament teacher in high school.  He had served our school for many years, not only teaching the students of my year, but three of my sister years before me.  He was a wonderful teacher–a joy to be around.

During one of Mr. Himmler’s many classes, one of my sisters accidently fell asleep.  Most teachers would be annoyed, inevitably deciding to jar the student from their slumber, only to issue a punishment, served with a side of embarrassment.  Not Mr. Himmler.  He let her sleep, stating to the other students, “She must really need the extra rest today.”

Wow.

Whether or not my sister was carrying the weight of a 2X4 on her shoulders that day wasn’t the question.  However, it was the assumption.  Mr. Himmler bestowed undeserved, merciful consideration and kindness.  It was a lot like God does for us, each and every day.

The next time we run into one of those moments where someone has wronged us in some minuscule way, lets chose to act mercifully, whether it’s deserved or not.  We have never deserved Christ’s mercy; do we really then have the right to determine if someone else deserves ours?

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:31-32 (ESV)

Challenge Yourself:  The next time an instinctive complaint comes to mind after an unpleasant encounter, try and replace it with a moment of consideration.  It won’t be easy, but it will be rewarding.

Twitter:  AliciaMSmith7