Count to Ten Before You React!

By: Ethel Chadwick
bagelsandblessings.com

​No one said it’s easy being a follower of Yeshua. Every day there are temptations. When your spouse or significant other snaps at you for no reason, are you tempted, just a bit, to say something clever and terribly sarcastic? When someone cuts you off in traffic, don’t you want to shout at them and honk the horn?
Just yesterday I was at the theater with my best friend. We were quietly (or so I thought) chatting about something, when suddenly a man from across the aisle yelled at me – he said “EXCUSE ME, WILL YOU SHUT UP???”
I just stared at him with a blank look on my face. I was surprised, shocked and stunned. For a brief moment I imagined myself walking over to him and slapping him across the face and yelling at him to be nice to the elderly – or something like that. But he looked around my age or a little younger, and besides, that wouldn’t be very Messiah-like. I was pretty upset for a few seconds. You can be sure that for the rest of the movie I didn’t utter a peep.
But a strange thing happened. The Holy Spirit gently nudged me to go over to him after the movie. (Inside I was thinking - hey --- why should I go him? Shouldn’t he apologize to me???) I walked over and said, “Sir, I’m so very sorry.” He thanked me for the apology. Whew! I sure felt better!
So, just keep on trying to be kind, no matter what. Sometimes the other person doesn’t deserve it, but hey, we received grace and mercy when we didn’t deserve it too.


Ethel