The Customs agent stops them and says,
"It's illegal to put five people in a Quattro."
"What do you mean it's illegal?" ask
the Englishmen.
"Quattro means four," replies the
border official.
"Quattro is just the name of the
automobile," the Englishmen retort disbelievingly.
"Look at the papers: this car is designed
to carry five persons."
"You can't pull that one on me,"
replies the Customs agent.
"Quattro means four. You have five people
in your car and you are therefore breaking the law."
The Englishmen reply angrily, "You nut case!
Call your supervisor over. I want to speak to someone with more
intelligence!"
"Sorry," responds
the official, "he can't come. He's busy with two guys in a Fiat Uno."
Life can be frustrating when you are dealing with people who
do not make sense to you. Because you
believe differently does not give you the right to dishonor others. We don't
all come from the same place in our thinking, in our reasoning or in our life
experiences. We react and self talk more than we listen. The tendency that seems to prevail judges
others by their actions and words while we generously judge ourselves by our
intentions. Our intentions however do not qualify any of us to judge the heart
of another.
Like the men caught on the stormy Sea
of Galilee , have you ever been reeling in the waves of a storm
desperately seeking Jesus help? Then
discover you are the storm? The squall of business? The fixer, the controller,
the talker? Are Jesus’ words to the wind for you? “’Quiet! Settle down!’” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became
smooth as glass.”(Mark 5: 39The
Message).
A pearl to string:
Too many people talk to impress and
impose their point of view on another. They drain the life out of their
audience and eventually become the old lonely person. It's possible to actually spend a lot of time
with people but unless you spend time listening, you can not know anybody. A
serious result of not listening is boredom for it is really the death of love.
It seals people off from each other more than any other thing.
Listening is the first step to successful communication and
the secret component to close relationships.
Listening is an act of love, it is honoring, it refreshes the other
person, and more encouraging than a thousand words.
With a new year upon us it is the perfect time to hone our
listening skills with intentionality.
In him we live and move and have our being, (Acts
17: 28NIV)
Lyndi
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