Venting

My girl friend served these words up to me the other day at lunch.

“He called for magic but I was out of practice. In order to meet the short- timer, turnaround deadline I have to use a little flimflammery and deceive him with my chummy rhetoric. I can talk a fine game when I have to.

If he calls me Tootsie one more time, I will hand him the Dustin Hoffman movie and tell him that he must be talking about that Tootsie. I’m chewing up a collection of gumballs. The stack is growing nicely. My next step: to leave the wad on his chair. Serves him right for not treating me with respect; after all, I am his right-hand man.”

They say revenge is a dish best served cold and our lunch sure was. My friend is just talking, I know…and she knows it too, but venting in a safe place seemed to calm her a bit. We had a good laugh about the whole thing.

What do you vent about? Be careful. Is it becoming a rant? Are you exaggerating your problem? Is it taking over your life? Are you boring your friends and family with unending complaints? Did you take your problem to Jesus in prayer? That’s the best advice.

Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out. (Colossians 4:5-6MSG)

Prayer- God, we are stuck in a rut of complaining and whining instead of thankfulness. We resolve to change, with your help. Thanks, God. Amen.

Be First to Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *