Minor Irritations
I have an innate ability to pick out the most flawed shopping cart in the litter. It looks functional outside the store, but no sooner do we cross the threshold of said store than the shopping cart pulls firmly to the left, refusing to roll straight. This requires both hands to push the cart, and makes for a less than enjoyable shopping experience. When I tried to swap out my cart for another, I got one with a square wheel (ka-dunk-ka-dunk-ka-dunk), drawing amused smiles from less irritated shoppers. Life can truly be unkind, can’t it?
It seems our lives are chock full of them. They crop up in every sector of life. Minor Irritations (MIs). The sink drips, my best shirt snags, I drop the tiny screw for my glasses, there’s a new scratch on the car, I bit my lip, the wi-fi bombs out, I forgot my mask, I hit all the lights red, and don’t get me started on the multitudinous MIs that make up traffic at all hours. I’m sure you can make up your own list. No wonder we don’t see too many smiling people out in public. Most live with a mild level of irritation, reflected on dour faces, stemming from traffic, news, work, or the myriad of dumb things that happen that were simply not what we had hoped for.
Theology would likely explain that when sin entered the world, a massive cloud of minor irritations came with it. But beyond blaming the curse in Genesis, perhaps these MIs serve a practical purpose. Could it be that all of the irritants of life give us opportunity to respond appropriately? Oh, we will respond one way or another. But maybe God allows things to happen in a flawed world (repeatedly) to give us the chance to respond righteously. Maybe MIs are simply reminders that we do indeed live in a flawed world, that the Lord Jesus will one day set right. We look forward to that day, and creation groans in expectation of it (Romans 8:19-22). Can you imagine living without any irritations? Perhaps looking forward in anticipation will mellow our responses to the minor irritations that fill our lives today. Perhaps those things are part of life for our instruction. In fact, I believe it to be so.
So may we look ahead, to all the things believers in Jesus are promised in the Bible. In the meantime, be careful choosing your shopping cart.
