I was walking back to my office after lunch and encountered a group of guys talking in the hallway. It's a long, open hallway and it was pretty obvious that I was approaching. One guy in particular was blocking my path and as I approached he looked up, glance at me and didn't move an inch.
Now you know those moments when you encounter behavior so clearly rude that you don't know what to say so you just go with it? This was one of those. I awkwardly squeezed past him and went on my way.
About 20 minutes later I happened to encounter Mr. Rude in the restroom. While standing next to him at the urinal, my first thought was to pee on his leg and rudely walk away without saying a word. But I didn't. I finished up slightly ahead of him, got to the sinks and saw a golden opportunity for payback. If I could remain ahead of him at the hand towels and get to the door just slighlty before he did, I could let the door swing back right in his face. Awesome.
The plan was unfolding nicely and as I gleefully approached the door with Mr. Rude a step behind, ready to teach him a big old lesson, Gill entered my head. I remembered telling my mum what I wanted to do to all those people who were telling lies about me during the pain that was 2008, And how I would make them pay. I remebered my mum saying to me, "Jonathan, we're better than that."
Now my dear mother was not stating that we as a family are better than anyone. No. I'm quite sure she was reminding me of a principle I first learned a long time ago as a child in Sunday School...
In the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says:
You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
- Matthew 5:38-42, NIV
Now for a long time this always struck me as the Idiot's Guide to Being a Doormat.
It's not.
Quite the opposite, this is true strength. A strength which says, I am so confident in who I am, who made me and where I'm going, that your words, your lies, your opinions cannot even come close to hurting or derailing me. Your blows are more like a tickle, come on give me another, it doesn't even hurt. Take my coat because "stuff" is not where I find my value, do you want my pants too? Sue me, slander me, do what you will. In other words...Bring It.
And that ladies and gentlemen is just one more lesson it's taken me a lifetime to learn.
By the way Mr. Rude lives to fight another day. I held the door open for him.
