Flower was my special pet kitten, although she was not of the usual house cat species. Except for a young raccoon I once had, she was the tamest of all the wild animals I ever tried to domesticate. Solid black with two bright white stripes down her back, she was cuddly, inquisitive, scentless, and of an ideal disposition. Ideal, that is, until the neighbor’s two-year-old accidentally stepped on her foot while playing with her. The skunk’s natural reaction was far from charitable, and the consequences definitely were not sweet-smelling. 

Like Flower, our normal tendency is to be friendly, agreeable, and sweet of disposition when life’s affairs are going smoothly for us. But what happens when someone steps on our toes? Criticism, uncharitable gossip, a snub, or a sarcastic comment can test us more severely than we like to admit. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, “I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation” (2 Corinthians 7:4)—a remarkably gracious attitude considering the trials he had suffered. 

What we need to realize is that every disagreeable situation provides an opportunity to die to self. In whatever happens, we have a choice to make, just as Jesus did each time He was reviled, threatened, or persecuted. Though He was “in all points tempted like as we are” (Hebrews 4:15), in every case He simply “committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). We can choose our response to adversity, but we cannot choose the consequences. Only through close fellowship with our Lord can we consistently muster a heartfelt response that results in sweetness instead of a stink. 

Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? James 3:11

~ Pete Lewis