A man hopped into a taxi, sat back in his seat as they sped off for the airport. They were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of the moving taxi.
The taxi driver had to slam on his brakes to skid and miss the other car by just inches. The driver in the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at the taxi occupants.
At this point, the man was livid and about to do some yelling himself. However, to his surprise the taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. He was sincere and seemed to be truly friendly to the driver of the black car that just pulled out into the lane that had the right of way.
"Why did you just do that? That driver almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital..." the man in the taxi roared. Then the taxi driver taught his passenger, what he called, "The Law of the Garbage Truck."
The taxi driver explained, "Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage that they pick up all day long. Things like, frustration, anger, rage gall, rage, bitterness and disappointments... etc.! Then as their garbage fills their body, heart, soul and mind, they need a place to dump it. And sometimes, they are so full, they dump it without thought... and it lands on you!"
The man once again sat back in his seat, as the taxi driver continued, "I have learned not to take it personally. I just smile, wave, wish them well and move on. I don't want a life full of garbage and I certainly don't want to take on their garbage, where I might spread it to other people at work, at home or on the streets!"
As we were approaching the airport, the taxi driver summed it up like this, "Peaceful and successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day! So I hope you have a good day from here, to wherever you are going!"
As I paid the taxi driver, I gave him a little more than usual that day with his tip. I felt as if I had learned a lesson more valuable than any I had ever learned in my life!
We know the old written law very well, "Love your friends" and the unwritten law that follows, "Hate your enemies!" I believe that the longer we live with that script... always playing in the back of our minds... the longer we will be challenged to change that sequence of events!!
For Christ is telling us just the opposite, He tells us to, "Love our enemies!" He is trying to tell us to let our enemies bring out the best in us... never the worst. When someone gives us a hard time... respond with the potency and authority of prayer! For it is in our prayer closets... that we should dump our garbage thus allowing the Holy Spirit to change our way of thinking and our hardened hearts!
Being a Christian means, we are representatives of Christ Jesus, therefore we must follow that which our Lord would do, at all times! While Jesus is no longer here physically on earth, it is so much more important to double or even better... redouble our efforts to live as if He was in plain sight, right next door to us!!
A look at Gods Word says, "And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Philippians 2:11-13
God is always at work in us, to make us willing and able to obey his own purpose! He will give us the desire and the power to do what will not only please Him... but will help us to work out a better way to live our lives without all the frustration of personal garbage!!
The bottom line is this, life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so... love the people who treat you right and pray for the ones who don't. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!