Avoid Weatherproofing

I heard a story about a truck driver who dropped in at an all-night restaurant in Broken Bow, Nebraska. The waitress had just served him when three swaggering, leather-jacketed motorcyclists - of the Hell's Angels type - entered and rushed up to him, apparently spoiling for a fight. One grabbed the hamburger off his plate; another took a handful of his French fries; and the third picked up his coffee and began to drink it. The trucker did not respond as one might expect. Instead, he calmly rose, picked up his check, walked to the front of the room, put the check and his money on the cash register, and went out the door. The waitress followed him to put the money in the till and stood watching out the door as the big truck drove away into the night. When she returned, one of the cyclists said to her, "Well, he's not much of a man, is he?" She replied, "I can't answer as to that, but he's not much of a truck driver. He just ran over three motorcycles out in the parking lot."

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not advocating revenge as an appropriate response to others. In fact, just the opposite is true. Listen to the Apostle Paul in his famous chapter dealing with love:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:1-6 ESV).

It is cold today as I write this devotional. Perhaps that is the reason for my titling it as I have. Our house is old. And, as is true with any structure, especially as they begin to age a bit, there are always those places that need to be weatherproofed. However, when it comes to relationships, “weatherproofing” is the most destructive behavior we can follow. In fact, it is also destructive in our lives. When we weatherproof our houses, we look for cracks, leaks, and imperfections. We may also be doing that in our lives and relationships with others. We ought to take great care when we go looking for the imperfections and flaws of our lives or that of others. It causes us to look for the things that we don’t like rather than rejoicing over the things that we do like. Obviously an occasional comment, constructive criticism, or helpful guidance isn’t cause for alarm. It is the constant rebuilding of ourselves or another that destroys us and our relationship with others. It just isn’t living by the principle of love.

Today, determine to say something nice to yourself and someone else. See what a difference it will make in how you feel. Even if they’ve done something to hurt you, repay them with kindness. Watch the difference it will make in your life today!