Irritating Cars (and People)
Good Morning,
1 Thessalonians 4:11 “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;”
When I pull my truck into the driveway and shut it off, a message pops up on the dashboard that reads, “Don't forget to look in the backseat.”
Let us be honest; I am smarter than the truck. Not only am I smarter, but I do not want the truck telling me what to do. If it does not bother you to have a machine tell you what to do, you need to get your head examined.
Consider this; somebody designing these vehicles believes you are an idiot, and if somebody does not tell you to look in your backseat, you are likely to leave your cocker spaniel or your child or your chocolate ice cream back there. This very concept makes me angry.
I was recently driving down the highway in a rental car, and a message popped up on the speedometer; “Consider taking a coffee break.”
If it were my wife saying that, she might get away with it, but it were anybody else, I would want to slap them! I do not need a car telling me take a coffee break; I do not even like coffee. I do not want a stupid vehicle telling me what to do. I do not like the designer of that car thinking that citizens are all idiots who need the government or the car manufacturer reminding us to take a coffee break.
I can give another example: I was sitting on an airplane while people were boarding. A man walked down the aisle with his wife, and he put a bag in the overhead compartment then pointed himself toward a seat when she interrupted him. She says, “Don't you think we could sit back here?” (She had already decided that his choice was inferior to her choice.)
1 Thessalonians 4:11 “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business…”
Am I the only one who remembers hearing, “Mind your own business” as a child?
Now, this problem is not a gender issue; the issues is a matter of respect and courtesy. If my wife is in front of me on an airplane, she can pick a place to sit. If she wants my “two cents” she could turn around and ask if I care where we sit. I could do the same thing or I could ask her if she wants a window seat or an aisle seat. I do not need her telling me where she thinks I need to sit, especially after I have already made my choice.
You might say, “They are not being bossy, they are just talking.” What they are saying is, “I have a better idea than you do;” which is arrogant, inconsiderate, and stupid.
My wife and I decided that when we are on a plane, we would both like to have aisle seats so we choose seats across from each other. I want her to sit where she wants to sit. We can talk just as much and have access to the isles being across from each other. I do not need a machine or a person insulting me by saying that they know what I should do next.
Let me make this clear; unless you are a seeing eye dog and I am blind, you do not know what I should do next.
I will clarify more: if you have nail prints in your hands and spent three days in the grave, you can have a vote on my behavior; only that Person knows more than I do. Other than the seeing eye dog and the Saviour, you do not know what I am thinking, what I want, or what I need.
A couple was in the line at an old-fashioned cafeteria (where you put whatever you want on your tray and pay for each item). The man's hand reached for the little cartons of whole milk, and his wife said, “You know we don't drink whole milk,” and his hand magically moved toward the 2% milk. That woman thought she knew more than her husband. By her actions, she told to the world that he was an idiot, or at best, forgetful – neither of which were true. She may not have thought those very words, but that is surely what she communicated.
I might ask my wife where she would like to go to have lunch; but if I say ahead of time that I would like a burger at In-N-Out, then she may say, well I would rather have one at the Habit –we will go to In-N-Out and then to the Habit. How many of you think that really happens? In most cases, I think the guy surrenders and goes where the wife wants to go.
Decent people are willing to consider the wishes of another; the person walking down the aisle of the plane to find a seat would ask their spouse, “Would you mind if we sat over here?” With regards a restaurant, someone might say, “Would it be okay if we ate at this restaurant?” If we are seeking to please our spouse, then the one who had already made their wishes known should be allowed to satisfy their desires. My wishes are not as important as my wife’s; I would seek to please her, but I would not seek to be corrected by her – there is a difference.
1 Corinthians 10:24 “Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.”
1 Timothy 5:13 “…busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.”
When a two-year-old says he wants a cookie and the mom responds that the child does not need a cookie, the mom is the authority. She is smarter and the child has been told by the Word of God to honor and obey his parents. When dad or mom wants a cookie, it is no one’s business whether they get that cookie or not.
The Bible calls these people busy bodies. My grandma used to say “none ya,” as in, none of your business.
Proverbs 20:5 “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.”
That means that even good advice should be like water in a well; it should be drawn out because it is desired. The well should not spit the water out on those who pass by.
1 Peter 4:15 “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.”
When two people are conversing, you might want to think twice about giving your opinion. You were not invited into that conversation – and it does not matter whether you are the teenager or one of the parents. When you are talking to someone and I voice my opinion about what you should do, that advice is unsolicited - which is rarely heeded and almost always resented.
The phrase, “Mind your own business” is a good, old-fashioned saying that needs to be revived.
Pastor