I'm a little miffed. Last week, I washed the windows at church, and within 10 minutes, somebody (an adult) had put her arm or fingers on the glass, smudging them. A bit later, I got frustrated by my 5:00 appointment moving to 6:00, and then to 8:30 the next morning. I got home that evening, and saw cat hair clumped up and around our baseboard heaters...just before opening the dishwasher to discover somebody's evil plot to drive me nuts by loading it with seemingly no regard for how the machine actually works.
If you could imagine these scenarios, you'd understand the madness, and be miffed right alongside me! Or, maybe you'd rightly suggest these are minor issues compared to the death of innocent children (e.g., gunfire, abortion), or the neglect of our planet (e.g., waste, overuse).
We've become people who make mountains out of molehills, and egregious errors out of pet peeves. We've tried to make our laws of primary importance, and we've made God's Laws arbitrary, political, and secondary.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others." - Matthew 23:23
This is what happens when we put ourselves first - our nation, our freedoms, our rights, our bodies. But, God didn't call us to a faith that lives in a self-serving bubble. To love others, we don't need to love ourselves first...but, to know that God has first loved us.
I'm still struggling with the inconveniences and irritations, but I want to be ready, willing and able to take on the big issues. Scripture commands us to love, "... because love covers a multitude of sins," but I also like to think that God can give us the patience to handle all the peeves, as well.
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