In what relationships, do you wish you responded differently?
Calvin Coolidge fascinates me as one of the former United States Presidents. He led quietly and had extraordinary attention to detail. If you read anything about his budget meetings, he coined the phrase, “sharpen your pencil.”
Amity Shlaes wrote a biography on him, Coolidge, and does a fantastic interview in the Washington Post Presidential Podcast — The Tale of Two Coolidges.
Late in Calvin Coolidge’s presidency, he took naps. Critics would say that he became lazy. Current historians like Shlaes will point out the grief of tragically losing his teenage son, Calvin Jr. Coolidge’s father would later pass away. Psychiatrists and Counselors of today would most likely diagnose him with depression.
My Mother-in-law Kathy will remind me, “There’s always a reason for the behavior.”
Like Coolidge, we have people in our life that we make assessments. We give them a pep talk. We might even scold them. Only to find later on that the “reason” would have changed our responses.
James 1:19 says, “Be quick to listen and slow to speak.” We often focus on the not speaking, when we could focus on our attention on “listening” — asking good questions, observing non-verbal communication, or praying for wisdom.
Today, consider the significant relationships in your life; spouse, children, friends, family, coworkers. Would you respond differently to them if you realized the “reason” for their behavior? What if you found out that your assessment might not have a complete picture?
Photo by Mag Pole