My Grandmother used to say, “Where there’s light, there’s bugs.” By that, she reminded me that if you start a good work, there will always be someone to criticize what you’re doing. So don’t get discouraged if people are complaining.
Let me tell you a story about my grandfather, “Papa.” Papa and Meemaw lived in Oklahoma City. They had a giant backyard (long but skinny) with a couple of magnificent cherry trees to play in and lots of horned toads for grandsons to catch. We loved playing in the backyard, but one-day Papa’s neighbor brought home a dozen beehives. He thought it would be great to raise them in his backyard. The bees might have been great for the cherry trees, but they weren’t great for barbecues or little boys.
Papa went and talked nicely with his neighbor who could have cared less. He was a greasy-haired young man who always had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He laughed and slammed his door in Papa’s face. My grandfather just shook his head sadly and checked with the city.
“You can’t keep cattle or goats, sir, but there is no regulation about bee hives. I’m sorry.” As strange as it sounds, Papa’s neighbor was entirely within his rights to keep the bees back there.
Time stretched on, and things only got worse. The gruff neighbor didn’t even share his honey! Then Papa had an idea. He went to the hardware store and bought several electric bug zappers and lined them up on the fence that divided their yards. I can still remember the little grin that use to cross Papa’s face every time we heard a “crack!” “Pop!” or “Sizzle.”
The church isn’t full of perfect people. In fact, we have a few that call for more grace than you might expect. There aren’t any “Holy Bug Zappers” so that tells me God expects us to act otherwise. Here are a few rules I’ve found helpful when I’m called on to show a little extra patience with people.
When dealing with problem people, don’t become a problem yourself. (See the Golden Rule for a further explanation.)
When you are being drawn into a conflict, draw closer to God!
Even though that person may annoyingly express himself, listen to what he has to say. He might be right!
The object is not to “squash the bug,” or run them away. The goal is always “transformation.” (See Romans 12:1, 2.)
God doesn’t call on us to only love the nice people. We are to love people – stingers and all!