God’s word is permeated with ways that we can practically live out our spiritual life displaying the fruit of the spirit rather than fruit of the flesh.
A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1
I saw the reality of the above verse lived out before my eyes last week. I was sitting outside of Peet’s Coffee visiting with a friend when we saw a big pick up truck pulling into a temporary (20 min) parking spot. The driver came out of his car and dashed into Peet’s to get his cup of coffee. As soon as he walked inside, we heard a sound of a baby crying in the back seat of his truck. My friend & I decided just to monitor the situation and take action if/when necessary.
Shortly after, this elderly woman came along walking by the truck, and she heard the baby crying. She got angry and said, “ I can’t believe the baby is left in the car unattended! I can call the Police on him!” We reassured her that the father will be back soon since he had left his car running. So she decided to walk into Peet’s and find him. In the meantime, I walked to the car, talked to the baby through the window, and reassured him that Daddy was going to be back soon.
In less than five minutes both the man and the elderly lady stepped out of Peet’s yelling at each other. The woman angrily said, “He doesn’t care if I call the Police on Him”. The man hollered, “Call the Police! I’ll stay right here. Just go ahead and call the Police!” Fortunately, the woman walked away shaking her head but didn’t call the police. However, I thought to myself this whole scenario could have looked so different.
If the woman had approached the driver/father with a gentle word rather than a threat, things could have turned out much better. He may even have thanked her for her concern. The reality is that both parties didn’t want to see the baby harmed. They both had the same goal, but the way they handled it, you would have thought they were each other’s enemies.
While our motives could be right, at times our approach is rough, and it rubs people the wrong way. Then we wonder why they don’t appreciate what we shared with them since after all it was for their good.
Sometimes people feel powerless and insecure about the person/situation, so they compensate for it by being rough, forceful, or loud to get their point across or look powerful!
Lord, help us to be meek especially with those who are challenging to us! Thank you Lord. Amen!
For comments, please contact me at karlinefischer@yahoo.com.