I stumbled across an interesting anecdote this afternoon that got me thinking. Here it is:
Ten year old, Bobby, was watching the evening news with his dad. As a report about war in the Middle East ended Bobby turned to his dad and asked, “Dad, how do wars begin?”
His father replied, “Well, son, take World War I for instance. It all started when Germany invaded Belgium …”
Before he could finish his thought his wife, who was just entering the room, interrupted, “That’s not how it happened. It began when that archduke was assassinated.”
The husband instantly scowled and snapped back, “Are you answering this question or am I?!”
Turning with a huff, the wife stormed from the living room, slamming the kitchen door on her way out. When the dishes in the cabinet finally stopped rattling an uneasy silence followed.
After a minute the silence was broken by Bobby, “Dad, you don’t have to tell me anymore. I know now.”
In the words flowing back and forth between Bobby’s mother and father, their actions and reactions, we see three things that brought on the ugliness that erupted between two people that had vowed to love each other until parted by death.
First, we see self-centeredness. Both people were only thinking of themselves and from their own position, so they were unkind toward each other.
Second, we see pride at work as they each take offense at being interrupted, disputed and barked at.
Lastly, we see rudeness toward each other, as they run insensitively and disrespectfully roughshod over each other’s feelings.
I think the soul-searching time of the Lenten Season is a good time to examine ourselves and our interaction with others in the light of 1Corinthians 13:4-8, and ask ourselves, “if we substituted our name for the word ‘love’ and said it out loud, would we be speaking the truth or a lie?”
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous;
love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly;
it does not seek its own, is not provoked,
does not take into account a wrong suffered,
does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails...(1Co 13:4-8a)
Just think, how much better the world would be for the people around us if these words truly described us.
Let us pray that it would be so!
-Joel
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