A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
Proverbs 19:11
We have all heard of the scenario of the man and woman who when it came time to go somewhere in the car, the woman had a strong need to direct the mans driving. She would tell him where to turn and when to turn, even when to speed up or slow down.
It was such a nagging habit that it drove man crazy and became the source of many an argument. Finally, one day the man just concluded that God might be trying to teach him something through this experience. So he decided he would let go of his need to be free from this correction; and he began to affirm the woman and even thank her for her input.
It was excruciatingly painful to do this from where he sat.
A few months passed.
He let go of the entire situation and actually got to a place where it just didn't matter to him anymore. An interesting thing happened a few months later. One day the woman looked at him and said, "I just realized that I have been directing your driving all these years and now realize why I do that. It goes back to… I am so sorry I have been doing that."
The man nearly fell out of his seat!
Whenever we work close to another person, whether in an office or home, small offenses can become the source of great conflict, and resentment and irritability soon follow. God brings these "offenses" into our lives to develop character qualities in us. He uses individuals in our lives to accomplish his goal of making us more Christ-like. So the next time you complain or resist a habit or action from someone close to you, ask God if it has been placed there to develop some quality in you.
Pride is the root source of the need to change another person. A man's wisdom gives him patience—to let go of little offenses. This is where spiritual maturity is seen in the day-to-day activity of life.
Is there someone close to you who has some habit you really want to change or is there a habit that you have that your eyes have been open up to from the nagging habit of someone around you?
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