Turning away wrath By John W. Kennedy I saw my physician recently because of a persistent pain in my chest. A few weeks earlier I had received a head butt at the net while playing volleyball. I suspected I had a broken rib, but I wanted to make sure it wasn’t anything more serious. So I made a doctor’s appointment. I have a middle-aged doctor I like a lot. He’s kind and gentle; he listens to my complaint before dispensing advice; and he takes time to examine me thoroughly. In short, he knows what he’s doing. As usual, there were several sick people in the waiting room, including a burly guy about 35 years old, dressed in a T-shirt and sweat pants. Soon after I arrived at 11:30 he started complaining loudly to the girl at the desk about how he had been waiting for 45 minutes and he had a schedule to keep. Just then my doctor walked by the front desk — and this patient started yelling at him. My doctor kept his cool. “Well, partner,” he said in all sincerity, “we’ve had some medical emergencies back here today and we’re doing the best we can. You’re next on the schedule.” The reply didn’t really appease the patient, who again announced he had things to do, including going to school. “What time is your class?” the physician asked. The impatient patient replied, “Two o’clock. But I have to eat lunch.” The doctor responded, “We’ll get you in as soon as possible.” “Do I have time to go outside and smoke a cigarette?” the patient asked, by now somewhat sheepishly. “Yes,” the doctor responded calmly. My physician followed the advice of Proverbs 15:1: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (NIV). In another few minutes I made it into an examination room, probably half an hour after my scheduled appointment. That’s to be expected; if doctors are doing their job, they probably are going to be running late. I could tell my doctor needed some encouragement. He probably was working through his lunch hour because of the unanticipated traumas of the morning. I told him that I could have gone to an Urgent Care facility three weeks earlier, but I waited for him because I trust him and I respect his diagnoses. His eyes brightened, and he simply said, “I appreciate that.” As 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Encourage one another and build each other up.” When dealing with service personnel in a public setting, whether it’s a doctor, police officer, librarian, schoolteacher or some other worker, take time to say thank you once in awhile. Few of them receive gratitude for doing a good job, even if they deserve it. A kind word can defuse a tense situation. Remember, everyone’s time is important, not just yours.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 11:00:00 +0000
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