Striving to under-react

A few weeks ago I mentioned in a teaching that building programs don't create problems they reveal problems.

That which we keep under wraps (with the help of the Holy Spirit) has a tendency to come out, whether it be issues such as anger and control.

Paul writes in Philippians 2:14,15, "Do everything without grumbling or arguing. Then you will be the pure and innocent children of God."

That's hard. We want our own way. We want to make sure that "things are done right." We can become inflexible when it comes to the work of God.

In short, we can become silly and ineffective, like a child demanding its own way.

Let me give you a goofy illustration of this that I read today.

It's the story of Latreasa Goodman who called 911 three times on February 28th of this year.

The emergency? McDonald's was out of Chicken McNuggets. She had paid for them, but McDonald's wanted to switch them for a McDouble, and Ms. Goodman appealed to 911, saying, "This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one." She was cited for misusing the 911 system.

Last February, Jean Fortune, another Florida resident, called 911 because the local Burger King was taking too long to fill his order. What's more they didn't have lemonade. He wanted the police to come to the scene and settle the matter.

I guess you might say these were over-reactions. It's frustrating when a fast-food place doesn't get your order right, but it's not really an emergency, is it?

The truth is, many of the things that stress us aren't really worth it. We have a tendency to take little events and blow them up into big things -- especially in relationships.

In the movie Ruthless People, Danny DeVito wants to kill his wife because "I hate the way she licks stamps." We all have a tendency to blow little things out of proportion.

In Colossians, Paul gives some very simple and straightforward advice. "Put up with each other." (Colossians 3:13 CEV) The King James Version uses the word 'forbear,' but the CEV captures the real meaning of the Greek.

An important part of living the Christian life is learning to put up with annoying situations and the annoying habits of some people, responding instead with a spirit of love and patience. When events irritate you, strive to under-react.

Now, if I could just practice it.......it's hard isn't it!