Do Good to Those Who... are apathetic?

Funny thing... I've found that I don't seem to have nearly as much trouble relying on God, listening to Him, and obeying Him in times of extreme circumstances as I do when things are middle-of-the-road. Is that just me, or is it something you've noticed in yourself?

Jesus said, "Love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you." When someone hates me, that's a pretty easy thing to identify, and therefore an immediate red flag pops up with the associated message, "Love this person and do good to them." Following that directive may not always be as easy as identifying it, but it's immediately on my mind.

Likewise, when something extremely good has happened or I'm in a worship service where the Spirit is at work, it's incredibly easy to focus on God and want to talk to Him and thank Him for everything.

But what about the medium things? Situations and people that insult our sense of pride but wouldn't go as deep as letting us put someone in the "enemy" category?

(I'm going to identify a couple of dining establishments here. Is it taboo to name them in writing? Hope not...)

My family went to McDonald's over the weekend and it was obvious when I ordered that I was simply a bother to the crew there. ("Customers? Bah! Who needs 'em?!") We went to the "convenient" drive-through and I had to go inside twice to assist them in getting our order correct. We ate at PF Chang's yesterday after my son had a minor medical procedure (the restaurant was his choice of cuisine as a sort of reward for vigilance) and we had a similar experience. I felt rotten after we left the place for not having asked our waitress if everything was okay and asking to pray with her. Apparently we were there for her convenience, and it showed.

These people weren't my enemies; they were apathetic. That's almost worse. Think about it; when someone is apathetic toward you, it says that you're so low and inconsequential that you don't really even register on their radar screen.

In those sorts of situations I find it oddly difficult to think like a genuine Christ-follower. I can probably act like it, but if it's not coming from a pure and authentic heart, I've got serious unresolved issues.

"You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment!" - Jesus, in Matthew 5:21-22 (NLT)

(Special thanks to Jan Owen and a few other great bloggers.)

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Spelling Bitterness

It has truly been enjoyable to see the liberal comments on the past couple of posts. I think I need to post self-depricating stories and political-tinged writings more often. By the way, I meant "liberal" in the sense of "free-flowing" rather than "politically left." Just wanted to stoke the fires a bit for no reason.

Moving on to new subject matter, I was in the Spelling Bee every year that it came around. In two of them I got close to being Supreme Speller in My School.

In the first of these, I was one of the final three contestants; I think I was in third or fourth grade. The word "excel" was given to me and I spelled it correctly. The judges then asked me to re-spell it because I'd apparently strung the "x" sound into the "c" sound. Heart pounding, I said "e-x-e-l," because I thought I'd gotten the "c" wrong since they asked me to do it again (I was manipulating the system, I suppose).

BZZZZZZZT! Wrong. I was frustrated because they were the ones who made me mess up.

In the second of these I was in the eighth grade -- my last possibility at winning fame and accolades and getting an album deal or whatever it is that Spelling Bee champs get to do -- and I was in the final two. I don't remember the word, but I spelled it (correctly) and the judges asked me to spell it again because I must have muttered it. I spelled it again (correctly) and they buzzed me as spelling it wrong! I even went to the judges' table and talked with them for a few minutes, explaining that they'd gotten it wrong, but they wouldn't reverse their decision.

So I lost again. The girl who won didn't get sick or anything in the next round, so my Vice Spelling Bee Championship Ring was useless.

I recall not liking Mrs. Raines and the other two judges for a rather long time after that. I eventually had to let go of it, because my anger was eating me up inside and not having any sort of positive impact at all. It was years and years later that I learned that this is what anger nearly always does, yet I still struggle with it. Bitterness tears us down at the least, and tears relationships down when we turn it upon others.

Most of the time, the people and groups at which we're angry or against whom we hold a grudge have no clue that we're mad at them. We often stoke an internal fire that makes us appear more and more "right" in our eyes, and them more and more "wrong." It's a battle within that causes us to walk around with a self-imposed thorn in our side and a scowl on our face. I wonder, does that make the world around us sarcastically say "There goes another 'happy' Christ-follower. That's what I want from life"?

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:31-32, NLT)

Thanks to Leroy for help on the wrap-up!

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The Cap Gun Story

Here it is, finally! Some may read it and think, "Hey, didn't I hear this story in Sunday School when I was a kid?" (I think my dad probably needs to sell the rights to this story to companies that publish Sunday School literature.) Others may think, "That's it? He waited all this time to post this?"

When my dad was a boy, his family was not particularly well-off financially. My grandfather was a sharecropper, which may tell you a bit about his work ethic and overall focus on the necessities of life. Luxuries did not make a frequent appearance, so when my dad was given a cap gun, it was a very valued toy, indeed.

It's a short and simple story: one day the cap gun was not cooperating with my dad, as far as it's possible for an inanimate object to seem uncooperative. In his frustration, my dad eventually threw the cap gun to the ground. As you might imagine, it broke.

That afternoon my grandfather arrived home with a special gift: caps. Now useless caps. The fact that this was a rare sort of treat made the impact of the moment all the more stark.

My dad told me this account when I, myself, was a pretty young kid. It's an immediate, direct example of why losing one's temper can have negative results.

Stop being angry!
Turn from your rage!
Do not lose your temper—
it only leads to harm.
(Psalm 37:8, NLT)

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