Monday; November 16

Over the last few weeks there have been some pretty public feuds that have had negative impacts on people – not just those primarily involved, but collateral damage as well.  The government shutdown put a lot of public servants in a financial bind and negatively impacted those who needed access to government services.  To a lesser degree, a spat between two media giants caused the disruption of programming for people who pay good money to be entertained.  I am sure that if you were to ask those directly involved, they could make a case for their reactions – but that doesn’t help those who were caught in the crossfire.  I was hoping we were passed the point of buyer beware – now I am not so sure.

While it easy to get frustrated with “big business”, have you thought about how our private arguments can influence bystanders?  When we have a family disagreement and children can’t see their extended family, what good does that do?  When we get crossways with someone at church and stop attending services to distance ourselves from the rest of the body of Christ, who pays the price?  When we get upset with people at work and react by griping and cutting corners on the job so that others have to work harder (or have to live with our negativity), why should they suffer on the job because of us?  Sure, there are times when we may have disagreements, but let’s not force other people to suffer for our choices. 

Are we involved in something that is spilling over into the lives of others?  Maybe now is the time to mend fences and start playing nice.

Think About It!

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