My Pushy Idea
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
I was sitting at a busy intersection the other day waiting for the light to turn green. As I waited, I watched a man in his electric wheelchair making his way across the crosswalk in front of my van. I began noticing he would randomly slow his chair down, stop and then continue moving again. He proceeded, stopping and starting, and then finally stopped halfway through the crosswalk. The light turned green. Cars started to move, some even started driving around the man, leaving him pinned in the middle of the busy intersection. I wondered if his battery had died and left him stranded in the middle of the street with no power to move.
I quickly pulled over to the side of the road and parked. Running up to him, I asked, “Do you need help with your chair? Will it move?”
“Yes, I do need help,” the man said, teeth chattering.
Immediately, I sprang into action, getting behind his chair and pushing. It wouldn’t budge. I tried harder. Someone else noticed our predicament and stopped to ask if we needed help.
“Yes,” I said, answering for both of us. “His chair is dead!”
Then the man in the wheelchair got my attention and said in a quiet voice, “Actually, my hand is numb and I can’t feel the toggle switch to control the chair, so I’m unable to make it go. Could you push the toggle switch for me?”
A bit shocked and embarrassed, I did what he asked, and the chair moved forward effortlessly. We proceeded to the other side of the street together. With him directing, and me using the toggle switch, we crossed the next street as well and got to his destination. With that, I wished him well and hurried back to my idling van. While getting in, James 1:19 came to mind which says, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
Far too often, I want to help others but am guilty of being slow to listen and quick to speak. It is my pride that pushes me to this, thinking I know the way. When we think we have all the answers, we can be caught pushing a metaphoric 400-pound dead weight like I was doing on the street that day! Rushing ahead without listening to God and to others first, leaves us missing out on the clarity of God’s direction in our lives. Instead, we strain, trying to force our ways and push our ideas. Humbly, as I slowly pulled back into traffic, I took with me a fresh reminder when we listen, when we really listen, blessing others may be much easier than we first thought.