The goal of every Christian ought to be to grow in the character of Jesus, to become like Him, and to act and live like He would. Our character is primarily revealed in how we treat people and deal with trials, minor irritations, or major crises. People often say or do things to us that are hurtful, inconvenient, a mistake, or even wrong. Many of us will become impatient,  irritated, and angry, and treat those inconveniencing us with rudeness and dishonor. That is the way the world is, and that is how they act. Being rude and dishonoring people with our words and attitude doesn’t fix anything or improve things. Others don’t improve their service or work because we treat them poorly. The biggest problem is that our ability to be a witness for Jesus is gone when we act and respond to events the way the world does.

My new pair of glasses broke before I left on my three-week fishing trip to Alaska. I took them to the eyeglasses department where I got my eye exam and glasses, and they said they would fix them for me. It would take two weeks, and they would text me when they were ready to pick up. So I wore an old pair of glasses to Alaska. Today I called and asked whether my glasses were ready to pick up. There was some confusion at my call, and after being on hold for ten minutes, the receptionist said they had lost my glasses; she didn’t know where they were or what had become of them. I asked What now? After being on hold for several more minutes, she said they would reorder a new pair and be here in two weeks. Then I was put on hold again, and when she came back, she said they had lost my prescription and order details. I again said, “What now?” I was again put on hold, and after some time, she returned and said they had located my information. I hope the glasses that come will be my order and not someone elses. If they are the wrong ones, I will have another blog topic. I am pretty sure that my words and tone during the conversation were gracious and patient. At the start of the ordeal, I felt myself getting upset and said to myself, “Act like Jesus.” I wanted to talk in such a way that if given an opportunity later, I could lead this person to faith in Christ because of how I had honored her. I have often seen servers, receptionists, store clerks, airline flight attendants, and secretaries treated with dishonor because of selfishness and lack of patience. Christians are to be the world’s light; their opinion of Jesus will be their opinion of us. I have blown it so many times in the past. I truly wish that I hadn’t, but I am determined to grow in character and to live my life in a way that pleases my Lord.