Howdy,
Today I am going to quote quite a sizable chunk out of my Community Bible Study (CBS) lesson “Red Sea to the Jordan River” (Vol. 2) because its commentary had a section and a thought that is challenging to me.
It touches on the idea of making a respectful appeal, and it states the phrase “bitter resignation,” which to me sounded like getting snarky.
I can become snarky when customer service isn’t serving me the customer. (As I double-check snarky in the dictionary, snide works as well. Snide: derogatory or mocking in an indirect way. It’s the indirect that aides in making it so insidious, especially when snarky: sharply critical; cutting; snide.)
Sometimes, rather than take a frustrating obstacle head-on, I slip into this. Snide-and-snarky. Mumbling-grumbling in bitter resignation.
This is a confession, that some of you may already know.
I need to work at fading out this way of working regardless, turning my back on it, but it’s exciting/refreshing/enlightening to consider other ways of approaching such situations (again, usually customer disservice). That sometimes things can be sorted through and taken care of without a smart aleck popping off as first result (assuming that it’s going to turn against him [bitter resignation]), without really ever reasonably working to come to a better or more fair solution through a shared effort that is genuine and generous.
An angle on the thoughts that I’m grasping for and attempting to meld into this idea are also sparking from what I read yesterday from Dave Ramsey about win-win situations, as they tie in with what he wrote about negotiating and the dignity of the other person involved.
In Smart Money Smart Kids, Ramsey writes: “When you model for your child how to negotiate, you are teaching him to face conflict. Negotiating price is a type of conflict. Teaching a child to enter a discussion over price with a win-win spirit teaches him to fight to get the best deal while keeping the other party’s dignity in mind.”
Okay, now the CBS material quotation, and unless you’ve been reading Numbers 27 recently it’s likely that the reference to the (five) daughters of Zelophehad will seem obscure …
“Think about making a respectful appeal. The daughters of Zelophehad were in a tough spot. Because there was no male to inherit the property that would have gone to their father, his inheritance would be lost and they’d have no place in Israel. They could have responded to this situation with grumbling, manipulation, or bitter resignation, but they didn’t. Instead, they chose to present their case to the authorities God had put in place over them. And God honored their respectful appeal. Because they spoke up — with proper respect — God not only took care of their needs but also provided for future generations of women who would find themselves in similar situations.”
There’s a handful of things that get me (well, maybe two handfuls — maybe even both hands cupped together for further-increased capacity …), but I want to remember respect and everyone’s dignity, including my own, before resigning into snide-and-snarky mode.
Regardless, I’ll likely mumble either way, because I tend to do that whether I’m grumbling or not.
Another thing to work on.
Maybe making a respectful appeal, loud and clear.
—Billy
Reading. Writing. Living.
Word Count: 98,421 / On Pace: 97,900 / Year’s Goal: 200,000
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