Show them how much Jesus loves them, not how much your humanity is hacked off.

Tonight, I had a rare and truly ugly moment. I got a little miffed and reacted to someone elses actions in a less than Christian way. I won't go into the full immature situation, but it is typical workplace issues where certain people tend to demand the atention or I will put it in to the proverbial phrase, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." The thing that gets me is that this is not OK and it should never be OK. I try to teach my children that the whining and moaning does not do them any good, they have to talk to me. That pitching a temper tantrum is not going to get them anywhere. The fact is that in life these are the people who get their way; they are the ones who get raises and promoted. The content are left at being content where they are and rarely ever rewared for contentment. This seems unfair until you remember what the Bible says in Matthew 19:30 : But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. We have to remember that our reward awaits us in heaven. This is only the tip of the iceberg here folks.

Tonight, I did some thinking as I was huffing and puffing myself and being a total jerk in order to prove a point. After about 30 minutes I realized that my behavior was infantile and ridiculous. I was being a not so nice wordy dird! I took the squeaky wheel out side alone and apologized for being so pissy. I am sorry this is not a nice word, but it is exactly what I was being! I first explained what prompted me to act like that and that there was no excuse for my reaction. I just told this person to next time talk to me and not go squeaking off in the general direction of the mechanic. You know pitch a fit because your way is not being had. I told this person that for the most part if someone asks me something, even if it is not something I particularly want to do, I will say yes, but if they go threatening to quit in order to get their way... I don't know what to do with that other than get my feelings hurt and react.

After that... I listened. I found out some very serious issues are going on in this person's family. I realized this person needs my kindness and my love and not my wordy dirdedness. I invited this person to church. I will follow up with this request through prayer. I will pray for this person and their family. I think God used this situation of my unChristianlike behavior to prompt a very witnessable moment. He prompted me to apologize and to hear this person. He prompted me to pray for and not to moan about this person.

As I settled into my comfy chair tonight and sat thinking about it, I realized that this type of person must really need love. The squeaky wheel that is. They must feel the need to squeak in order to get recognition or worth. It is a very sad thing to think that they do not realize just how valuable they are. They are just as valuable as any other human that Jesus paid His life for. I think that we all need to be reminded that when someone acts ugly it is not because they are ugly or worthless, but that they must feel that way. What an opportunity we have in this situation to show the True love of Christ. I could have BLOWN it big time tonight. I mean BIG TIME! What if I had continued acting like a jerk and proved that I could make or break how much money this person made and was rude to the customers out of spite for this persons actions. What if I had made this person see how unChristianlike I could possibly act and then step into the church building Sunday morning and smile like I was an angel? What fruit would I have shared with this person?

Thank God for the Holy Spirit and the power of forgiveness and the Spirit of love He rushed over me tonight. Instead of pushing this person farther from church, I was able to honestly love this person and invite them to church. I-- who rarely ever confront another person, was able to confront this person and talk to this person and apologize for my behavior. I left there with a closer friend because of it and could have left with bad blood between the two of us. I left with this person's best interests at heart and not their worst. I am astounded at how powerful doing the right thing can be. The "what ifs" here are amazing to me because that is where I was headed.

So next time someone really does something to anger you, a wheel starts squeaking, someone rants and raves for their own way... Think about it in the terms of why they are acting like that. What are they missing? Is it the love of Christ? If so show them how much Jesus loves them, not how much your humanity is hacked off.