I made the mistake the other night of complaining out loud. It is one thing to complain under your breath so that nobody hears you or knows what you are complaining about. But when you complain out loud, then you run the chance of somebody hearing you.
“What are you complaining about,” my wife said directing the question to me. My wife has a delicate way of backing me in a corner where I have to say what is on my mind. Fortunately, I do not have much of a mind for anything to get on. Unfortunately, my tongue is not attached to anything so it is looseygoosey. Since my wife asked me, I let go on a very eloquent rant against crazy. At this point, I forget the exact crazy that set me off. But it does not matter. If it were not one thing, it would be another thing. I have tried throughout my life to be an equal crazy complainer. If you are crazy, you can be sure I am going to complain about you. “You, in particular,” my wife was directing this toward me, “ought to be quite thankful about all the crazy people in the world.” I do not want more crazy people in this world. Enough is enough already, move on. “Really,” my wife argued, “you ought to be happy about all the crazy people in the world.” I finally broke down and asked her what in the world she was talking about. She continued her explanation by saying, “Every crazy person takes the focus away from you. If there were not enough crazy people out in the world people would focus on you, complaining about how crazy you are.” At least it gave me a new perspective on the world around me. Also, a new appreciation for crazy. I began to see her point of view, as humbling as it was, and realize that crazy has a place. After some deep refl ection on the subject, I have come to the point where I want to praise crazy. I never thought of it along this line, but everybody has the right to change his or her mind about anything. Personally, I would like to change my mind for one that really works. One man’s crazy is another man’s delight. What is crazy to one person may be something rather important and enjoyable to another. After all, who am I to say what is crazy and what is not crazy. It is important to fi nd someone else with something that you can truly appreciate. I thought about that and what Solomon said, “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones” (Proverbs 3:7-8). Instead of spending so much time complaining about other people, I need to exercise the fi ne art of appreciation and learn how to praise people on their terms. [Dr. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com. |
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