Ephesians 4:2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with
each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
I watched a video yesterday produced by Fellowship Bible
Church in Little Rock. It follows a man
through part of his morning and all the frustrations he encounters. As he backs out of his driveway a young boy
on a skateboard goes behind his car. The
man complains that the boy is always doing that. He gets stuck in traffic – grumble; a woman
gets the parking place at Starbuck’s he was waiting for – grumble; after making
his way through the long line inside until he’s next, the man in front wants to
add a cookie to his order –really??
Suddenly another man appears and hands him a glasses case with “Get
Service” on the outside. A strange thing
happens. Our grumbler, curious about the glasses inside puts them on. Suddenly every person he sees has a label across
them. They say things like “Just lost his job. Fighting with her husband.
Avoids relationships for fear of pain. Discontent with life. Ran away from home
three days ago.” And for the boy on the
skateboard, “Just needs someone to care.”
How often do we get aggravated with others during the
day? What if we had glasses like
that? I stopped to eat lunch at Wendy’s
on my way back to church after a meeting. I remembered the video as I observed
people sitting alone all around me. What
are their labels, I wondered. It made me want to give two particularly lonely
looking people a hug. Instead I
swallowed hard and vowed to try to be more patient with others.
Help us Lord, to be patient with others, to be slow to judge
and quick to smile. Unite us all through your great and patient love. Amen.
Have
a blessed day!Paige
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