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When a wild rose grew up and bloomed unexpectedly in
the hedge at the edge of our yard, we decided to relocate the rose to a more
prominent location near the front of our house. Then, two stems turned into a
bush, and its roots began to spread. New stems began sprouting out away from
the bush over a larger and larger area, consuming more real estate than we ever
intended. The rose bush had to be removed, which meant dealing with thorns.
Although I had thick gloves on to protect my hands,
the thorns cut into my forearms and stabbed me in the torso as I wrestled to
remove the bush. It’s as if the thorns knew specifically where I had minimal
protection, and attacked me in those weak spots.
Some people are referred to as “thorny” for a
reason. These are the people we wish we didn’t have to deal with, but just
cannot avoid, like classmates, co-workers, clients, neighbors, and maybe even
family members. Their words slash us. Their actions tear at us. Sometimes their
mere presence intimidates us. And no matter how we try to protect ourselves,
our vulnerable spots end up hurt.
We spend an exorbitant amount of time focused on the
thorns. We end up thinking about how to avoid them, or confront them, or
survive being near them. Thorny people chew up a lot of mental real estate,
consuming our thoughts and hindering other parts of our lives because we cannot
stop replaying events in our head, exclaiming “I can’t believe what he did!”
And the more we retell the story to others – “Can you BELIEVE what he said?!?”
- the more established the thorn’s roots become in our minds.
Who is the thorny person in your life?
Despite the
prickly nature of some people, we are supposed to “Love your enemies, do good
to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat
you” (Luke 6:27-28). Thorny people should move us closer to Christ because they
keep us humble, and provide opportunities to demonstrate His character when it
is least expected.
