For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (II Peter 1:5-8)
Not
really the verse I wanted to face today. I’ve dealt with it in the past, but
today, I’m not liking the reflection I see in it. Let’s start with a phrase that
sums up a lot of my reaction to other people, “You are not my parent, my
master, or my God.” So when I say “I’m sick” and people start pushing me with “You
have COVID,” and “Here let me get a stick for you to put up your nose so you’ll
know,” is it any surprise that I get a little testy? And when (as happened in November)
I do take the home test and it comes back negative, and someone says “Oh, no – you
have to take it three our four more times because those tests regularly come
back with false-negatives!” is it a wonder that I should find it irritating to have
others push the tests at me?
It
would be one thing if I thought the people pushing were doing so out of concern
for me – but part of the time its to bolster their own egos (one has made lout claims
about always being right before) or to feed their anxiety (this is just what
she was afraid of – yet another in a long list of things to join in fretting
about) The difficult thing isn’t just in being wrong, it’s in having to listen
to incessant “I told you so” and heing told that henceforth I should consider
their words as coming straight from the mouth of God. In other words – it has
to do with accepting them as parents, masters, or God.
And part of the trouble with that is that there are lots of responses
that come to mind that may acknowledge their correctness but reject the
attitude with which the statement is made. One of them is that I hope they are as gracious when they are humbled as they want me to be when they
humble me. That’s a magnificent line and a significant bit of truth, and it must show
up in my writing somewhere. But when put against the list from today’s passage,
it should not come out of my mouth or be entertained as a response to the
person in question.
Another
great response is to admit my error about it not being COVID by adding something about my arrogance not wanting to compete
with hers because mine is too worried about losing the contest. Great,
great comebacks that will probably make it into my books somewhere (possibly my
plague tale, if I ever get to it.) But they don’t fit into the list of
things we’re to add to our responses to people.
Hey
God, You really need to make an exception to Your principles when it comes to great
repartee!
Yeah
– No. Such as the trials – and loopholes – of a writer. At least I can save them
up to use them in a story.
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