3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2: 3 -4 (NIV)
I am at a point in life that I do not want to deal with other people’s issues. I do not have to respond to the guy in the old Honda racing up the slow lane of the I-5 and then zooming across two lanes from my right to left, close enough for me to smell his Axxe cologne. Or gesturing at the woman who wants a particular parking space at the grocery store so waits for it; she doesn’t see an entire row empty two aisles over. Or “harumphing” at two fellow employees who have a loud disagreement in the corridor outside my office. I cannot change people who decide to be an irritant to the cashier at the Target, when I am behind them in line and at ten minutes before closing time. Sometimes it is grandstanding about being charged five cents for a plastic bag, yet they will juggle half a dozen things out to their new car. But I can encourage the cashier with a kind word and not opine about the “bag” lady.
When an “inner conflict” carries over into my dreams, that is, when other people’s temperament or actions stir my territorial “Alpha” dog, but my conflict-avoidance temperament tempts me to a passive-aggressive response. It becomes an
14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. (Philippians 2:14 -15 (NIV))
opportunity to seek a spiritual insight. to gain wisdom how to resolve conflict without provoking an ungodly response. It is an “Alpha” dog who can maintain control over territory and one’s passions without resorting to bloodshed or vindictiveness.
I’d reached a point where there was a direct conflict between what I was trying to be and who I really was. Billy Corgan
(www.brainyquote.com)
It's a Dog's Life 