Rubbed the Wrong Way

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  2 Timothy 2:3

Ever have someone rub you the wrong way?  You can tell when you are being rubbed the wrong way, because your patience with that person wanes thin.  You become easily angered and annoyed with that person.  Perhaps it's the way they speak, how they say it, their idiosyncrasies?  The very thought of them makes you want to roll your eyes and high-tail and run when you see them walk your way.  

In the context of 2 Timothy 2:3, we are told to 'suffer hardship with someone' for the sake of Christ.

I will tell you a secret; when we do that, we become diamonds.

(Diamonds are made of carbon.  They form as carbon atoms under high temperatures and pressure, and when that happens, they bond together to start growing crystals.)

Webster defines 'hardness' as: The cohesion of the particles on the surface of a mineral as determined by its capacity to scratch another or BE ITSELF SCRATCHED.  (Capitals mine)

I found that amusing.  Resistance to scratching!

Did you know that the longer you rub something, it begins to make an indentation?  It can be smooth or rough depending on how long it is being rubbed.

Again, the dictionary used the example of the 'hardness' of a diamond.  Beautiful, but when necessary, it can cut glass.

A wood's hardness makes it suitable for carving.

When the world whittles away at me, what is my reaction?  The opposite of hardness is flexibility, gentleness, laxness and mildness. 

When God works on me through the situations in my life, He is whittling away my self-image so that I can become more like Him.  Am I resisting, or am I enduring?

'Good Soldier' means to have a favorable character or tendency.  Bountiful, fertile, suitable, sound, profitable, agreeable, pleasant, considerable, kind, loyal and well-behaved.  A skilled warrior in all things.

'Of Jesus Christ.'  When I'm being rubbed the wrong way, is my behavior pleasing my Saviour?

On the flip side, maybe the irritations that cause us to bristle in others is because we tend to have those same traits in our own life.  Let's be honest-we rub others the wrong way too.

When we are being rubbed the wrong way...

    Endure a little longer...

        A design is emerging...

            But that's just me!

"They tell me that I rub the fur the wrong way, I don't; I let the cat turn around."

    Billy Sunday