We got yelled at again – at Costco. My husband and I were shopping during one of the craziest shopping times of the year – Christmas time. So, we should have known, right? How dare we stop in the aisle and help another lady who asked to use our height to her advantage. She couldn’t see the sales sign, and we were helping her. In the meantime, an angry and flustered lady gave my husband a piece of her mind. That wasted 10 seconds meant a lot to her, and she wanted him to know it. The last time we went to Costco, a man started swearing at us as we were waiting for someone to back out of a parking spot because we were in his way. Tis’ the season, right?
As were driving away from Costco, I started contemplating the last time we had encountered mean people. It was on the cruise we took with our whole family. Apparently, some fellow cruisers didn’t like the sight of kids and even used choice language to let our kids (and other kids) know of their disapproval. Yep. Mean people. In the middle of the beautiful Caribbean. Apparently, sinful natures were not left back on the dock in Galveston.
Mean people are everywhere. Costco, cruises, and even…gulp, church. I’m sure we all have stories of mean people we’ve encountered in all of the above places and then some. Don’t even get me started on the comment sections under FB posts.
But as we pulled away from the packed parking lot at Costco, something dawned on me. In a couple of weeks, guess where we are heading back to? Mean people aren’t going to keep us from those glorious samples and cheap paper towels. Nope. We are still avid Costco fans. And guess what else? Mean people aren’t keeping us from going on a cruise again. Are you kidding me? Seeing the sunset over the clear waters of the Caribbean, followed by a decadent dinner with my family involving zero clean-up or dishes? Move aside, mean people! Sign me up!
Guess what other place we will still be going? You guessed it. Church. If you had several hours, we could swap stories of “church hurt” and lessons learned. But guess what other personal accounts I’d be telling you? I’d be telling you of some of the sweetest people – true roses among thorns. I’d be telling you of the messages that spoke to me right when I needed them, or church mission trips that forever impacted my life, or how church family so often became like real family to us. Mostly, I would tell you about how faithful my Savior had been through all the ups and downs of going to church since I was a kid. And boy are there some astonishing stories to tell. Fellow sinners have let me down big time – and vice versa, by the way.
But – Jesus? He’s never let me down. I don’t go to church because I’m perfect, or because I’m looking for perfect people, but because I serve a perfectly perfect Savior who is worthy of my complete devotion and then some.
If mean people won’t deter you from Costco, or cruising, or even being on Facebook right now, then why should they deter you from church? There are sinners every single place we go. The first one we see each day is looking back at us in the mirror.
Don’t let others keep you from the good things in life. Smile at those mean people at Costco as you savor that sample. Smile at the cynical cruisers as you watch that astonishing sunset over the bright blue waters. And keep smiling as you pass fellow sinners in church. In fact, go a step further and commit to praying for them (Matthew 5:44). Thanks for the lessons, mean people! Number 1, don’t become them, Number 2, don’t let mean people deter you from the joys of life, and number 3, don’t let mean people keep you from giving Jesus what He deserves!
“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” – Acts 20:24
Just a Mom’s View 