Being Defensive
I have been thinking about the defensive thing. We all tend to do it, especially if things don't always go the way we want them to, we are tired, or our expectations are a little different.
I have related the story about Wal-mart, some of you were there the night it happened on New Year's Eve. I was tired, it was late, I don't know that everything was going as I expected either. I know I agreed to letting the purchase be made, I just didn't want to accept it because my expectation was that better things could have been done. However, that was not my choice. What is done is done. When we got to the register, the clerk did not want to allow the purchase because Tall Man was not 18 and she was watching the money change from his hands to my hands. She was telling us what the laws were and what restrictions she was required to work under.
So, this is what I saw, I thought the law was silly, I did not want to deal with the trivial stuff, I just wanted to make the purchase and go home. I became defensive.
When we got home, I started reading scriptures. I was reading in about Nephi and his family getting on the boat. They had just spent several years wandering in the wilderness, then they spent a great deal of time and effort building this ship. As they boarded it and set sail, I am sure that everyone had different expectation. When Nephi's brothers started messing around, Nephi stood up and told them what the law was and what restrictions they had in using this ship and the compass. They thought it was silly and did not want to deal with the trivial stuff. They became defensive.
I realized that I was acting just like them. It was wrong. I had to repent. The more I have thought about it, I realize that it doesn't just apply to simple things like this. It applies to all things we do in life. When things don't go as we expect, we can't just give up, we either have to find a way to deal with it or work around it. Becoming defensive, angry, or violent is not the answer. I know that I need to work on this. I think we all do. Think about it.
I have related the story about Wal-mart, some of you were there the night it happened on New Year's Eve. I was tired, it was late, I don't know that everything was going as I expected either. I know I agreed to letting the purchase be made, I just didn't want to accept it because my expectation was that better things could have been done. However, that was not my choice. What is done is done. When we got to the register, the clerk did not want to allow the purchase because Tall Man was not 18 and she was watching the money change from his hands to my hands. She was telling us what the laws were and what restrictions she was required to work under.
So, this is what I saw, I thought the law was silly, I did not want to deal with the trivial stuff, I just wanted to make the purchase and go home. I became defensive.
When we got home, I started reading scriptures. I was reading in about Nephi and his family getting on the boat. They had just spent several years wandering in the wilderness, then they spent a great deal of time and effort building this ship. As they boarded it and set sail, I am sure that everyone had different expectation. When Nephi's brothers started messing around, Nephi stood up and told them what the law was and what restrictions they had in using this ship and the compass. They thought it was silly and did not want to deal with the trivial stuff. They became defensive.
I realized that I was acting just like them. It was wrong. I had to repent. The more I have thought about it, I realize that it doesn't just apply to simple things like this. It applies to all things we do in life. When things don't go as we expect, we can't just give up, we either have to find a way to deal with it or work around it. Becoming defensive, angry, or violent is not the answer. I know that I need to work on this. I think we all do. Think about it.
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