"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments,
because you know they produce quarrels."
2 Timothy 2:23 NIV
A few years ago I was the training manager for a customer service call center. My job involved directing the training process of agents who would receive calls from mortgage customers. As you might imagine, the calls we handled were almost always about a problem the customer experienced. The mortgage company may have misapplied a payment or failed to pay property taxes. The customer sometimes just did not understand the terms of their mortgage. We were there to help explain and fix and soothe.
An important thing to remember when taking calls from customers was to remain calm even if they weren't. And never use a tone of voice or choice of words that were bound to create or fan a flame of anger in the customer. I called doing such things "picking a fight." It's not good customer service.
And it's no way to treat your family or friends or church family. It's no way to treat anybody! Yet families are divided over foolish and stupid arguments. Churches split over some pretty silly issues. Friends are lost because of words spoken without much thought.
That's not what God intends for us in the area of relationships. Relationships are meant to be beneficial in some way to all parties. Upset that intention and the equilibrium is turned upside down. Arguments begin and years later you still argue but don't know how the argument got started. You may be more impassioned against the person than by the issue. Think "Hatfields and McCoys."
Think about your relationships. Begin with family, then close friends, casual friends, acquaintances, and finally strangers. Are you close? Are the relations strained? What are you doing to improve them? Are you intentionally trying to be a blessing to others? Pray that God will help you establish healthy relationships with the people around you, mend broken relationships, and bless others.
No comments:
Post a Comment