Think of Jerks More Highly Than Myself
For most of us, if we are going to be truthful, there are a few people in our lives that just grate on us. In my case, it is mostly people that I frequently run into related to my work. Customers that seemingly wait
daily by their mailbox just to complain to me (about the whole world, not just junk mail) or hit me with the original line: “Keep the bills.” Jerks, whiners and pains in the butt with a crappy outlook on life who just have nothing better to do than complain! Do you know some?
I have written before about my often lack of a Christ-like attitude towards them. I am trying, and seem to be doing better, but some of them are tougher to tolerate (much less, deal with) than others, if you know what I mean. There are a few of them that I will try to avoid if at all possible. For instance, if I am at the store taking my break and one of the most whiny of the complainers pulls up, it’s break-time over and to
be continued at another (more peaceful) location.
That’s exactly what happened the other day. I was just chillin in the A/C of the convenience store, when the biggest whiner on the route pulls in. He pulled up at the other end of the store from my truck and so I made a break for it. Sometimes I get away, but not this time. I begin to rearrange the load in my truck while I pretended to listen to him babble. “Hey, have you seen or delivered any of those sweepstakes envelopes, any at all? I have sat at my computer for hours filling out one after another of those entry forms. They keep telling me I am successfully entered for this prize and that prize but I haven’t won a thing! Well, have you seen or delivered any of those; huh?”
Fighting off my “auto smart aleck mode” to tell him he’s wasting his time and is only going to win an offer for magazine subscriptions and a one-of-a-kind plastic spoon Christmas ornament, I just reply, “Nope.”
He then says: “Well it didn’t cost me anything but my time, and my time is not worth anything anyway.”
I think but don’t say: “Well mine is.” Then I reply: “I have to get moving.” And I am gone! Annoyance over at minimum expense.
As I thought about this encounter, I realized that it is a sad thing for him to think his time is worth nothing. Sadder still is that I think my time is more valuable than his. In Ephesians and Colossians, Paul tells us to: “…make the most of every opportunity…”. Epic fail on that encounter, Greg!
It occurs to me that the reason I may not be having success at “making the most of every opportunity” is that I am more concerned about my need for a change in my attitude than for someone else’s need to be heard. In other words, I am more concerned about my improvement rather than being an uplifting influence on someone else. Funny how God works sometimes. My self improvement could be
better achieved through my encouragement and service to others.
(From Greg May, Crewed Awakening, for January 7. Three times per week we publish a devotional from one of our devotional writers.)
