Calling yourself too considerate is like calling yourself too humble. It’s a bad idea—one that will make you look bad in front of others, probably because you deserve it.
Nevertheless….
Yesterday, I had carpet cleaners scheduled to come to my house at 1:00. This was a LONG OVERDUE cleaning to make my disgusting home look like the exurban palace that it used to be.
Or, something like that.
A little after 9 as I was studying away on the emerging church, the carpet cleaners called me. Could they come right now, or anytime soon?
Ummm….. Hmm…..
The one o’clock time was chosen very deliberately. The Son Person would be home from school camp at noon. The Daughter Person would be up from her nap. Grandma would be able to take them to her house to swim, so the Daddy Person (that would be me) could stay there and work while they steamed away evidence of my parental failures, pet neglect, personal sloppiness, etc.
But, for them to come any time before one would cause problems. One problem is that it would interrupt my desperately needed morning study time. A bigger problem would be that it would wake up the Daughter Person who desperately needs her naps.
I told them they could come at noon. The guy on the phone seemed a bit unhappy. They did come at noon and the Daughter Person woke up immediately after they started running the van-mounted vacuum motor which was positioned right in front of her bedroom window.
Still, even though they changed the perfectly planned schedule, I felt bad that I didn’t throw the whole plan in the trash and just let them come right then—at 9:01 A.M.
Do you think that my feeling bad is evidence that I am far too considerate of others?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I wouldn’t feel badly about the decision you made. You pay them, remember?
Think of it this way, Brian. What if you were a typical hourly factory worker? Would you be able to just leave your job so as to get your carpet cleaned? No way! You’d have to schedule that “on your own time” as the company has the time of you shift to run you full-throttle until you break down so they can replace you. Since the nature of your work is such that you are more independent than that, you need to go ahead and simulate that rigid hourly employee mentality. Time just keeps ticking and you’d never get that studying in due to endless distractions.
Hi Brian,
I think that as Christians, we are constantly (and rightfully so) evaluating our own motives. The trick in fending off the enemy of false guilt lies in determining what is just and what is pseudo-guilt. While there is no such Biblical thing as being too considerate, there are times when we bend our plans more than is justified in order to accommodate others..whatever the motive. Putting your family’s needs and your God-honoring study time first does not make you inconsiderate of contractors. It only makes you a good steward of your God-given time and talent. There may come a time when you are more at liberty to be flexible..then change plans with a clear conscience.
Good to see you old friend.
Jan Dale
My artist blog; jancicottedale.blogspot.com
Chris and Jan—great responses from both of you. Thanks for your thoughtful comments. You both make excellent points!