The day is starting with some very frigid air today. I am already looking forward to coming home tonight and sitting in front of a warm fire. My travel mug is filled with Door County White Christmas Coffee. I will enjoy this one right to the last drop.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Galatians 6:22,23
We have been looking at the attitudes that need to be developed and cultivated in order for us to be successful at "putting others first.
Not Everyone Is The Same. We Think Differently
The picture above is an antique whipping bowl that may have been used for whipping small amounts of cream before serving it with coffee. Rene purchased this on our last shopping excursion for antiques. She thinks that spending the day looking at old things and maybe purchasing one or forty items is a great time. She actually likes for me to come along. She calls it "quality time together".
I on the other hand would prefer to be in a swamp waiting in the rain for some ducks to approach my decoys and my shot gun going firing. Then watching the dog retrieve my supper. Now Rene has tried this and she does look kind of hot in waders but duck hunting is not her cup of tea.
Now in order for her to put me first in her life she rarely asks me to attend much of anything during duck season. Now for me to put her first, I surrender myself to drive her to antique shops. I actually watch for them now and tell her when I found a new one. I know that some day I will drive Miss Rene to it and spend the day eating ice cream and talking antiques.
You see, we both have different ideas as to what is a good time. One of the reasons we find it hard to put others before ourselves is that different people think differently than we do. If my family thought exactly the same way I did then we might have fewer problems, but life would sure be boring. We like the diversity of thought that different people bring to a group. However, it can also be the source of friction. Try to learn see things from their perspective. Walk a mile in their shoes.
Don’t try to force everyone into your way of thinking. That is a sign that you are thinking more of yourself than you are of them. This would not be fulfilling the Fruits Of The Spirit in Galatians 6:22-23.
God bless,
Marty
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