Well, I found the car with no problem. I parked my pickup behind other nearby cars, but obviously not in a parking spot. Backing the car out of its space, I pulled it around so that it wouldn't be in the way of anyone attempting to drive through the narrow parking lot.
However, just as I got out of the car, and was making my way back to the pickup to pull it into the now-empty parking space, a young mother with a couple of kids drove her minivan into what she saw as a wonderful parking place! My reaction at first was to think, “Lady, that's MY spot!”
Then I realized that she had no way of knowing–and probably needed it worse than I did, anyway. Besides, what difference did it really make? I said nothing to her, and only glanced at her as I got in the truck to go find another place to park it.
For some reason, this “incident” stayed with me and wouldn't go away. I had expected the spot to still be there when I got back to the truck, and it never occurred to me that someone else might take it. I considered it my “right” to have that place, and when it didn't happen that way, I thought my “rights” had been violated.
Actually, this was a reminder to me that I don’t always follow Christ and do what His Word tells me to do. His Holy Spirit spoke to me, and I was convicted that I was
being disobedient to several key teachings about humility and serving others.
Philippians 2:4-5 says, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”
When we don't get what we think we deserve, our feelings get hurt, and our witness to others is affected. Are there certain things we've come to expect as our “rights”–when in actuality, those things don't really belong to us at all? Or even if they do, perhaps we should relinquish them in the interest of serving others, and
ultimately, serving Christ.
This week, don't assume any “parking spaces” are yours. You'll probably be a lot happier.
--Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com