Dingbats

217/365

Yesterday I had a rather unpleasant encounter with yet another dingbat at my office. This woman is simply ridiculous. She can’t help but think that the world revolves around her and her needs alone. She constantly double-books me for meetings when she knows good and well that I have already been called elsewhere. She constantly runs to my boss in hopes of getting what she wants and the worst part is…she usually gets it!

Now, if you know me at all, you know that I would not respond well to behavior such as this. I firmly believe that availability calendars were invented for a reason and should be respected. I do not enjoy being pulled in five directions at once and, as a natural result, my opinion of you alters greatly if you attempt to make me do so.

Matthew 5:7
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” – NIV

Has anyone but me ever noticed something a bit odd in the way that culture responds to people that offend them? Naturally, our first gut reaction in such cases is to respond in kind: to return ill will for ill will or irresponsibility for irresponsibility. We are offended first and only then, if we are attempting to be graceful about our actions, we must spend the next half hour talking ourselves into congenial attitudes.

Somehow, we must learn to reverse these impulses. We must train ourselves to always think of mercy first, to have an attitude of gracefulness before we are ever offended. How in the world can we do that? We have two options: We can try to reform our sinful human nature, or, we can simply ask God for His nature.

We must not only ask, but also believe that He will give it.