A man ignored a restraining order and texted his ex-girlfriend 144 times with disparaging remarks. As punishment, the judge made him write 144 things good about her. Maybe the judge should have also had him list 144 reasons why she shouldn’t be with him. He might have realized she had a good basis for leaving the relationship. This man obviously doesn’t live by Luke 6:31 where Jesus tells us, And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
It seems these days, we’re too quick to blame others instead of looking at our own actions. We seem to want others to change instead of being the change we’d like to see.
How many of you have ever had a terrible waitress—one who didn’t smile and seemed grumpy? Did you leave her a nice tip? Probably no more than the standard 15%, if any. I imagine you did a lot of complaining about her. How would you have felt if you’d discovered she had a sick child at home she was concerned with?
You’d likely feel sorry for her and understand her mood. Change your way of thinking, and you change the situation.
Next time consider something might be wrong at home or that she just had to deal with a large table of difficult customers who left a rather small tip. A lot of work for very little money. I imagine it would affect all our moods. That’s common for wait staff, especially on Sundays. So be the change. Instead of thinking that this waitress needs to be nice to you in order to get a good tip, consider being the type of customer she’d love to see come back through the door.
Again, change your attitude, you change the situation.
_________________________
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. – Leo Tolstoy
_________________________
In order for others to change how they treat you, you might have to change the way you treat them. I’ve seen organizations where everyone gets along except two or three individuals. It makes a very unpleasant situation for the others who are in the group.
So be the one who makes the first move toward thinking of the other person, whether it be wait staff or someone in a meeting room. You might not change the way they are behaving, but you will definitely show others how God’s light is supposed to shine.
Have you ever been able to change the way someone is treating you? Maybe you got someone out of a sour mood. If so, share it with us in the comment section below, we’d love to hear your story.
Also, if you need us to pray for you or someone you know, please let us know in the comments below.
