One Tough Lesson

Inside me lives a two year old.  And she's MEAN.  And demanding.  And pouty, whiny, and probably sleep-deprived.

She's selfish and moody and unforgiving.

And she's learning a hard lesson right now.  Sometimes, love means letting the other person "win."  Even if they don't know they've bulldozed over your preferences without a thought.  Or, even if they do.

And no pouting, either.  Because that would not be loving.  That would be spiteful.  That would be allowing the two-year-old to stomp her little feet in the toy aisle, fling herself to the floor, and throw a fit.

And I'm too old for that.  (I don't think my knees would forgive me at this point.)

And that's not loving.  Insisting I get my way isn't either.  Holding a grudge, for any amount of time is certainly not loving.

And it is time that my actions and attitudes be motivated by love.

1 Corinthians 16:14 "Let all that you do be done in love."  I don't see an exception for people who bulldoze over me without thinking, or for difficult "friends" and relatives, or for people in the general public who rub me the wrong way, or for the driver who cut me off in traffic.

The truth is, I only really, truly see my side.  Try as I might, I will only partially understand someone else's perspective.  My understanding is colored by my own opinions, and selfishness.

So, sometimes love means letting the other person "win" without a fight.  And trusting that God will work it out as He sees fit in the end.

Because ultimately, life here on earth is not about being comfortable, but being Christ-like; not happy but holy; not selfish, but self-less.  While all the world howls at us to make ourselves the center of a very small and angry universe, God calls us to something, SomeONE much higher.  And we're to point the way to Him.  If I am so busy fighting for my "rights," no one will see Jesus in me.  And that would be the greatest tragedy of all.