One Less

Last week, one of my sista-friends shared with me how during a recent visit to her hometown, she ran into some old classmates. Unfortunately, they weren’t very inviting.  In fact, they acted as if they didn’t really know her at all.  Since their respective families had known each other for years, she was completely taken aback by their lackluster welcome. After expressing to me how much they had hurt her feelings, I told her, “That’s okay, try not to worry about it.”  She said, “I don’t know what I ever did to them? They really hurt my feelings!”  I immediately slide into my protective big sister role and said, “Trust me, I know, Sis. Don’t worry about it!” She continued, “I just don’t understand.” I immediately followed up with, “And, you may never understand. You just have to look at them as One Less!”  She was like, “What?”  I repeated, “One Less!”  I could tell by her silence that she was confused by my meaning.

In Matthew 7:6 NIV, Jesus warns, “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs.  If you do, they may trample them under their feet; and turn and tear you to pieces.”  I love this scripture and use it often for several reasons.  First, the Lord tells us, “Do not give dogs what is sacred.”   This statement begs the question, “What is sacred in your life?”  For me, one of my most precious assets is my time. Once it’s used, it is gone forever.  Since I’m older and hopefully a little wiser, I’ve become very selective of whom I share my time with nowadays. Since I abhor drama, I don’t fool with messy people.  I utterly despise the Spirit of Entitlement, so I stay away from snobby and ungrateful people.  In addition, I don’t have the stomach for rudeness, so I tend to keep my distance from people who don’t use the words, “Please” or “Thank you.”   However, that’s me!  What you may consider sacred could be something else entirely different.  Whatever it may be, the Lord is warning us in this scripture to not give it to the wrong recipients. 

I would venture to say that the “Pearls” of your life are as equally important.  I equate my talents as Pearls.  Incidentally, it typically takes Chinese freshwater pearls anywhere between 6 to 24 months to reach a standard size of 9mm.  Just like these natural phenomena, it has taken a significant amount of time to cultivate these God-given gifts.  Therefore, they are as invaluable to me as these precious jewels. Hence, the reason they are not to be trampled under someone’s feet.  I treasure them now more than ever!

“Which brings me back to why I use the term, One Less,” I reminded my dear friend. She then asked, “How so?”  Here’s how I furthered explained it.  When someone rejects you, don’t think of it as a negative, you must look at it as a positive!  In other words, their dismissal of you is actually a hidden blessing. Think about it like this.  That’s One Less gift you won’t have to be burdened to buy at Christmas. That’s One Less tank of gas you can keep in your car instead of running back and forth to see them.  That’s One Less party (i.e., birthday, anniversary, Graduation, etc.) you do not have to feel pressured to attend.  “Okay now, Tasha!” She chuckled, “Wow, you really broke that down!” I assured her, “Honey, yes!  Please let them go and save your sanity! They are One Less headache for life!” After we shared a laugh, I smiled and drove home my final point.  “With all the rejection that I’ve had to endure throughout my lifetime, I praise Almighty God that there really is a blessing…in One Less!”