Monday, October 15, 2007
Respecting the Un-Respectable - for UCOA Oct 17th 2007
Here lately, God has been teaching me a lesson that I am having a hard time learning. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt you were not appreciated, and not being allowed to use your full set of skills to complete the work you are given to do? In other words, have you been told to do what you are told and don't worry about everything else? You try to be helpful, and all you get is a slap in the face, either because the other person doesn't want to hear what you have to say, or they don't value your opinion. I was sharing some of my frustration with my wife, and I asked her if she had ever felt that way. I expected her to say "no never", but of course that wasn't what she said. That caused me to think of the times I wished she had kept her opinions to herself, and why I wished she had. Mostly those time revolved around insignificant things like which is a better route to take to some destination we are going to in the car. I am driving and I decide to go a certain way. She says something like "why don't you go this other way?". I retort with "would you like to drive?". Of course it usually isn't that simple, we banter back and forth, and then end up there. But, you get the idea. She wants to be helpful, but I don't want her help, I would rather she just let me make the decision. I don't feel respected when I am questioned about decisions I have made, especially those that are insignificant, like which route we should take somewhere. So, basically, the lesson in all of this, is that there is a time and place for questioning, but it isn't always the time when it comes to you mind, and some things are better not questioned, because they are not significant enough to bother with. If I don't see someone in another car that is about to hit us, and she screams "Look out!", so we don’t get into an accident, that is a perfectly valid time to question my actions, but other far less urgent questions are sometime better left unspoken. Now all “I” have to do is learn when is the right time to speak up at work, and when is the time to keep quiet. I told you I was having a hard time learning this lesson.
¶ 6:35 AM
Here lately, God has been teaching me a lesson that I am having a hard time learning. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt you were not appreciated, and not being allowed to use your full set of skills to complete the work you are given to do? In other words, have you been told to do what you are told and don't worry about everything else? You try to be helpful, and all you get is a slap in the face, either because the other person doesn't want to hear what you have to say, or they don't value your opinion. I was sharing some of my frustration with my wife, and I asked her if she had ever felt that way. I expected her to say "no never", but of course that wasn't what she said. That caused me to think of the times I wished she had kept her opinions to herself, and why I wished she had. Mostly those time revolved around insignificant things like which is a better route to take to some destination we are going to in the car. I am driving and I decide to go a certain way. She says something like "why don't you go this other way?". I retort with "would you like to drive?". Of course it usually isn't that simple, we banter back and forth, and then end up there. But, you get the idea. She wants to be helpful, but I don't want her help, I would rather she just let me make the decision. I don't feel respected when I am questioned about decisions I have made, especially those that are insignificant, like which route we should take somewhere. So, basically, the lesson in all of this, is that there is a time and place for questioning, but it isn't always the time when it comes to you mind, and some things are better not questioned, because they are not significant enough to bother with. If I don't see someone in another car that is about to hit us, and she screams "Look out!", so we don’t get into an accident, that is a perfectly valid time to question my actions, but other far less urgent questions are sometime better left unspoken. Now all “I” have to do is learn when is the right time to speak up at work, and when is the time to keep quiet. I told you I was having a hard time learning this lesson.
¶ 6:35 AM
