I was having lunch some time ago at a Chinese restaurant. It was peaceful and relaxing until a party of three sat down at a nearby table, an older man and two grown sons.
The young waitress approached their table. Before she could speak the older man said loudly, "I want a martini, not stirred and I want two olives, not squeezed." The waitress had a puzzled look on her face. He responded by raising his voice, "Just forget it!" The older son stepped in and said, "We just want three iced teas." The father jumped in again asking, "Do you think she can handle that?" At that point the younger son said to his father, "I think it's time that you adjust your attitude." It took all I had not to verbally agree with him. Instead, I just barely nodded my head and went for a second serving of pork fried rice.
I'm afraid that he is not the only one who needs to hear that advice. Most of us need to hear those words on a regular basis. It’s so easy to lose our temper at the tiniest thing. It is so easy to snap at someone. Our fuse is often short and it doesn’t take much to ignite it. And that is so unhealthy spiritually and physically.
Dr. Redford Williams wrote, "Angry and cynical people are five times as likely to die before they reach age 50 than those who are more calm and trusting."
Perhaps our prayer today should be this: “Lord, give us an attitude adjustment. Help us to relax and to smile and take things more easily. Help us to live more like Your Son every day. Amen."