Yeah, I saw the movie, but that’s not important right now…
What if you were a jerk? How would you know? One of the defining attributes of a jerk is the fact that they are oblivious to what is going on around them. So, if you told them they were being a jerk, they would probably respond with “Me? You’re the one who…(insert made-up offense here).”
Nobody wins with that exchange, except for the jerk.
What if suddenly, it was crystal clear to you that you were a jerk? How would you change? I mean, it’s easy and fun being a jerk. It’s hard to think of others first and their feelings. This requires some effort and can actually hurt – two things that your average jerk avoids like the plague. Not that I would know.
I just heard this story of a man at the zoo. He was watching a gorilla in a cage. Apparently, the gorilla was copying everything that the man was doing and he (the man) thought this was really cool. As the man started to leave, the gorilla started to throw feces at the glass. The man turned around and was so upset that he started yelling at the gorilla. The zookeeper came up and told him to stop yelling at the gorilla. The gorilla was being punished for throwing feces (if you can imagine) and didn’t know that he was strong enough to break out of his cage. The keeper was concerned that the man would make the gorilla so angry that the animal would tear down the bars and escape his cage.
As I was listening to this story, I got a picture of me, sitting in this cage that I can get out of any time I want. But I would rather just sit here, throwing poop at the people around me, blaming them for my predicament. What a jerk.
God, please help me to be like you, not like me. Help me to fix the damage I’ve caused.
Man, it stinks in here.
Go Therefore 