Be Patient With Difficult People

-

 So I was thinking yesterday. Shocker I know.


I was thinking about how I never run out of things to talk about each day. That gives me a chuckle, because since elementary school, just about every teacher would write on my report card something like, “Christina is a good student, but has trouble not talking to her neighbors.”


Ha!


There was also usually at least one teacher every year, I would have an issue with. Part of the problem was, I was quite observant as well as introspective, so I always had “thoughts.” 


Sometimes I recognized when a teacher was not being “fair” in any given situation, whether it had to do with me or even another student. So I would (respectfully of course) share my thoughts and feelings about said situation.


Generally speaking, those thoughts were not appreciated, and it would create, well...problems. Sometimes I would need to bring those things to the attention of my parents.


My mom was usually the one to handle it. She taught me at a very young age, how to address my elders with any grievance I may have against them. She often recognized their biases, or personal issues, but wanted me to learn how to deal with such issues early in life.


So, prompted by my very wise mother, I would approach the teacher and ask, “Is there something I’ve done to offend you?”


Can you imagine a little kid asking an adult such a thing?! 


The teacher was usually caught off guard, to say the least, but it gave them the opportunity to consider what they might be projecting, whether intentional or not. Approaching them respectfully with a question for them to consider, very often diffused the situation.


What would it look like if we approached people we have problems with in that way? What if we gave them the benefit of the doubt, realizing we might be the offender, or there might even be things they are dealing with that have nothing to do with us? How would our conversations change?


“A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.” ‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2:24-25‬ 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Should Someone Call an Exorcist?

-
Image
Last Friday I went bowling with some of my family. I am aware of my low skill level, so I remained humble throughout the first game, and surprisingly finished in 1st place!  The second game began and I just knew I would dominate even more. I may not have been quite as humble. I was last on the list to go. I stood up and approached my ball with confidence. I picked it up, set my eye on the center arrow painted on the lane, then took a few quick steps forward just as I had before.  As I took my last step, I swung my arm backward, then forward, and fell flat on my face. Actually, flat is not entirely accurate. I’m pretty sure every one of my limbs flew in a different direction, and the position of my head may have had folks wondering if they should call an exorcist. I also seemed to be temporarily blinded from the fall but could hear my ball bouncing its way down the lane. Let’s pause for a moment of prayer. The problem was that I had stepped over the foul line into the lane— 1. Not reali
Read more

The Complexity of Prayer

-
Image
Have you ever considered the complexity of prayer? Have you ever had something you needed to pray about, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to talk to God about whatever the issue was? I have experienced that many times. I will call it “Prayer paralysis.” Prayer paralysis happens when you are afraid of any answer God might give you. If He says no, then you might feel bad, or sad, or even angry. If He says yes, then your fear factor increases because you just don’t think you can handle what a “Yes” entails (which essentially means that you don’t trust Him). So instead of revealing your lack of trust (Like seriously, you don’t think He knows? ), you just don’t pray. It’s kind of like when you were a little kid, and you would sit still and close your eyes, thinking that it would make you invisible. God already knows our fears of failure, self-pride, and even our trust issues, so we might as well just go ahead and lay it all at His feet. There’s another kind of prayer paralysis that I ha
Read more

Go Deeper

-
Image
  Anyone struggling with anxiety? I have struggled with it quite a bit. Then, I realize that forgetting to bring all of my anxiety-inducing problems to God, is a big part of the problem. Yesterday I talked about living in endurance mode. Part of that is taking all of the difficult things, and trying to wait them out.  If I really think about it, I may have subconsciously believed that struggling is just part of the journey and that I need to suck it up, because Jesus went through way more than I ever will.    But, “ Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)  He never intended for us to hold onto them. Sometimes we don’t bother saying anything to God because, well, He knows what’s happening. He can change it if He wants to. So we sit paralyzed—enduring! Is that familiar to anyone? Though He could whisk our struggles away at any time, part of the journey, part of our relationship with the Creator is rooted in commu
Read more