"Clean Up in Aisle Nine"

Proverbs 13:10 " Only by pride comes contention"

Have you ever been to the grocery store and witnessed a child having a temper tantrum because they didn’t get their way?  How about the child pulling things off the shelf, one by one, to get their mom’s attention, until she finally gives in and gives them what they want to keep them quiet?  

We had a similar experience in the waiting room at the dentist the other day.  Two grandparents walked in with their grandson "Thomas".  The receptionist comes out and asks, "Hi Thomas, would you like a balloon?"  Little Thomas was beside himself with excitement.  The only problem was that it took the receptionist about five minutes to blow up the balloon.  In the meantime, little Thomas started screaming.  Really loud.  My wife was inside the office and she thought somebody was getting a tooth pulled! It was so awkward.  “Mom-mom” was on the floor where little tommy threw himself, trying to negotiate with him to get up.  At the same time "Pop-pop" took the opposite approach telling Tommy, “You’re bad. If you don’t get up, I’m putting you in the car all by yourself”.  

As mentioned in Proverbs 13:10, contention comes because of ONLY one thing, pride.  Sometimes we think that pride comes from being arrogant, but it also comes from having a poor self-image.  Pride asks, "How does this affect me?  How does this make me look?”

In the heat of the moment, not correcting your child, or not properly confronting a situation often seems easier on the flesh, but it’s the only way to deal with a "clean up in aisle nine".  Unfortunately, many people are more concerned with how it makes them look, or what will happen to them if they use the word “no”.  We need to crucify that old way of thinking.  We don't like when people disagree with us, or when things get a little tense.  That’s pride.  Let's allow God to work with all of us in our “aisle nine” moments.