Today’s Scripture Reading (April 7, 2016): Psalm 18
Sometimes our commercials tell us a lot about ourselves. There is a commercial from a certain Insurance Provider with their own “Name your price tool” (and now you all know who I am talking about) in which their spokesperson, or in this case Spokesbox, tells a story of how he invented the tool. Across from him sits a pretty young woman who is apparently out on a date with this box. (Maybe it’s a true story.) The Box spins an interesting tale about the invention of the tool using some advanced math and the incredibly important variables of F. L. and O. (because the spirit of Flo is incredibly important, even when she is not present in the commercial herself.) And, finally, he reveals that this is the way that he invented the tool. The woman isn’t convinced. “Is that really true?” she asks. The Box responds, “Well, I invented the story. Isn’t that all that really matters?” and then mumbles the words “What else about me?”
The commercial catches your imagination. But it also walks a very fine line. If the box wasn’t so cute, and if it were not animated, the commercial would run the danger of turning us against the box and against the company, because self-obsessed people we don’t need and we don’t want to spend more time with then we have to. At least in this case, the transgressor is a box. But maybe another significant problem is that there are a lot of us that should be able to relate with the box. And therefore, all of us identify with the woman. Self-obsessed people are exhausting. And, unfortunately, they make up the most of our population.
One of the most significant hints at how to make friends and influence people is simply this; don’t do what the box does. Be more interested in the one you are speaking to than you are about yourself. Have a greater desire to hear the stories of other people than you have to tell your own. That doesn’t mean that you don’t tell your story, but when you do tell it, make sure it is filled with great humility making the other person more important than yourself. Do this and you will never be without friends who want to be with you – never. But those people are rare, and when you find them hold them close. Better yet, treat them the way that they treat you – make them want to be with you as much as you want to be with them.
So this verse really is not much of a surprise. We know that God must love the humble, which would include the poor and the hurting, and want to bring low the prideful because we feel the same way. We love to be around people who are concerned with us and our story. We love to be around gifted people who don’t realize that they are gifted. The trick is to return that kind of concern rather than fall back and simply be that person who only wants to talk about themselves and are oblivious to the needs of others.
In every relationship we are involved in, if both people want nothing more than what is best for the other person, then we are involved in a relationship that honors God. And we need as many of those kinds of relationships as we can possibly find.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 19
No comments:
Post a Comment