What upsets you most?

I am listening to a book called "Not a Fan" - by Kyle Idleman. It's an extremely good listen although I am not finished yet. He was asking a series of questions geared toward identifying if Jesus is the appropriate recipient of the correct amount of affection and devotion...(which is all of it...I'll probably talk about that another time). One of the questions was "What upsets you most?".

 

One of the things I tend to do whether I am reading a book or listening to it is try to anticipate where the author is heading. But, when he asked what made me upset, I was thrown for a loop. Then he shared a story that was WAY to close to home. The summary of the story goes like this:

 

A father took his son fishing. His son was extremely excited to get to go and spend time with his dad. However, it was a bad day of fishing, They didn't get a single bite and as the day came to a close they packed up and headed home. The father was visibly irritated although silent.

 

The end.

 

Well, almost. Idleman went on to explain the meaning of the story. See, the point is that the father was more interested in catching fish than spending time with his son. Yeah, that's the point.

 

Now, back to my life and how that sentence affects me. First of all, because of who I am, I would slightly argue that just because they didn't catch fish and the dad was upset didn't mean that he didn't enjoy spending time withi his son. But, that's probably just because I am SO guilty of that behavior. When we get upset about something it's reflecting how strongly we feel robbed of the privilege of the success of the encounter. Was the encounter of the story to catch fish or build a relationship with his son? As I rewind this over and over again, I tend to agree more with Idleman. Then I rewind the past few weeks of my life..outbursts on the basketball court, disappointment in decisions of my children, dissatisfaction on how many times they have to be told something to get it right. All this highlights that I want things to be my way. I want to win, I want my kids to be intelligent, I want them to learn quickly....those things or ideas become more important than the person of my kids - and I get angry when they don't happen like I think they should.

 

That's the same in our relationship with the Lord. Am I putting myself and my desires above my commitment to follow Jesus. Are my frustrations actually just me throwing a fit about MY situation...