Pet Peeves

June 8, 2020

By Dwaine Woo, Administrative Assistant

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32)

Who doesn’t have a few pet peeves? I certainly do. One of them is when people insist on holding open the glass door in the ice cream section of the supermarket to look at the ice cream. Don’t they know that it will fog up the glass after they shut the door and those after them won’t be able to see through it?! There is a reason why the doors are made of clear glass, people! Can I get an Amen?

Anyway, my wife Tracy knows this pet peeve and my feelings of frustration that go with it. She reminds me of Jesus’s words while on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

It is a struggle at times to deal with the temper, temptations, and temperament of others (and for others to deal with mine); to live filled with the fruit of the Spirit and to resist my gift of sarcasm. However, there is Someone I can look to, who lives with all the traits that make life better––Jesus. He is my example and my source of strength. 

Do I see people with God’s eyes? Do I try to understand, as my wife does, that people are people? We have all fallen short and are in need of grace and forgiveness. Perhaps my shortcomings are God’s pet peeves. I’m sure He doesn’t roll His eyes as I do, but He does love me and wants to help me love as well. 

Prayer: Jesus, please help me to see Your people with Your eyes and to feel with Your heart. Even when I can’t see through the glass doors, teach me to hope for what is beyond. Amen.

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