Articles
Lessons From the Airport
I enjoy people watching. That means that places like ballgames, stores, and even airports interest me perhaps more than the average person. This past week, Lauren and I passed through four airports going to and from Alaska. Our day in the O’Hare airport in Chicago was long, to say the least. Our flight was cancelled, so as you can imagine, there was quite a commotion at our gate from the 160+ people who then had make other flying arrangements. Like I said, I enjoy people watching, and that day I had the opportunity to observe what happens to everyday people when faced with a stressful situation. While that instance does not happen everyday for the average Georgian, it is important for us to think about how we act or react to difficult situations in our lives.
One type of person I observed in the airport was the blame-caster. Everyone could hear the disgust of this person as he lectured the attendant of how foolish and thoughtless she was because there was a problem with the plane — which she had NOTHING to do with. Perhaps we are not too far from this type of person when faced with difficulty. Any problem we experience is someone else’s fault. We find the nearest person and blame them for all our troubles. Unfortunately, this hits close to home. We may find ourself casting blame on our spouse, our children, or our parents. This attitude of general anger must be fixed. We are reminded in Romans 12:18 that we are obligated to do everything in our power to make sure we have peaceable relationships with everyone we meet.
Another memorable personality type that we saw at the airport was the “thanks, but no thanks” person. When offered a free night in a hotel for him and his family of four, a man said, “This is for a Holiday Inn. I prefer the Hilton!” This floored me. Sadly, this sense of entitlement and demand has saturated our nation and culture. I do not need to go into detail about how the government, our educational systems, and even parents are bending over backwards to accommodate the demands of those who do not think they are being treated fairly. We have exchanged contentment for desire. The danger for Christians, especially our youth, is that we will develop the same mindset as our worldly, materialistic neighbors. Paul teaches us by his example that we are to learn contentment. It is not something we are born understanding. It must be taught in the homes, it must be fostered by the parents, and it must be practiced by the children. Work hard for what you want; be content with what you have.
Although there are many more examples of negative behavior we could discuss, I would like to us to focus on one positive attitude demonstrated that day. While most people were happy to complain, there were those who handled themselves in a kind and understanding way. In fact, some of those people were the ones who were being yelled at. While it is a demonstration of professionalism, this attitude is reflected in the Bible. The word of God calls Christians to be full of characteristics of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (cf. Gal. 5:22-23).
How do you react to the daily strains of life? How do you react to crisis? The positive characteristics we read of in the Bible should become so ingrained in us that it becomes who we are. Remember, people are watching. What type of example are you showing?
-DRC
