From The Pastor’s Pen – By Brian Horrobin
I was out walking some years back and saw a couple of men installing windows at a neighbour’s house.
I noticed a sign on the back inside wall of their work trailer that said this: “The deadline for complaints was yesterday.”
I got a chuckle from reading this but then started thinking about what that would look like if more of us lived our lives that way.
A lot of our conversations are focused around complaining, be it the weather, the government, the price of gas and groceries, and yes, even the length of Sunday’s sermon!
My goodness, what would we have to talk about if the deadline for complaints was yesterday?
My mom always used to tell my brothers and me that if we didn’t have anything good to say then we shouldn’t say anything at all.
I realize that there are legitimate things to complain about, in order to hold people accountable and businesses to a higher standard, but let’s consider how we register those useful complaints.
Are we gracious and respectful in our tone, or do we come across grumpier than a junkyard dog?
The ‘how’ is as important as the ‘what’ and can make all the difference in the world when it comes to having our complaint taken seriously.
Now, let me see if I can work on that sermon length issue I’ve been hearing about!
