Under Construction

Maybe you’ve passed by an area under construction with this sign: “We apologize for any temporary inconvenience while we make permanent improvements.” Do you ever feel like you should be wearing that sign around your neck? I do! No matter how old we get, there are so many improvements we can make in our lives.

One of the most unpleasant experiences I can think of is for someone to “tell you about yourself.” This is usually the result of someone being fed up with another person’s idiosyncrasies and finally deciding to rant about it. Perhaps you’ve held one of these sessions, where you’ve taken all you can stand from someone and finally reached your breaking point. It probably felt great to finally get it all off your chest.

However, if you’ve ever been on the receiving end of one of these conversations, it probably wasn’t so great for you. To sit there and have a person run through all the little things that are annoying about you isn’t so great. And if it’s someone you care about, you may even feel worse because of how you’ve made that person feel.

When someone presents you with a running list of “Things I Hate About You,” how do you react? Denial? Anger? Depression? We can try a better approach. When it comes to disagreements, especially in the church, I’ve always turned to Matthew 18:15-35. It begins with advising us to have a one-on-one with the other person to talk it out.

In your time alone with God, pray on the situation. Ask for guidance on dealing with the person in love and with more care in the future. And ask God for ways you can improve yourself that will glorify Him in the end. We should seek forgiveness for the temporary inconvenience we cause others, and we should strive for permanent improvements that will lead us to eternal glory.

Please be patient with me, God is not through with me yet!