“A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up strife.”–Proverbs 15:1 Bob Griffin posted a good example of this the other day. It was written by an unknown author and makes a great point:
One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving
in the right lane when suddenly a car jumped out of a parking space right in
front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the
other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head
around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at
the guy. And I mean he was really friendly. So I asked, “Why did you just
do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!”
This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, The Law of the
Garbage Truck. He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They
run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of
disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and
sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally. Just smile,
wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it
to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take
over their day. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so
love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don’t.
