Men Behaving Badly

I could not help but be amused when I saw my friend's toddler chuck a tantrum the other day.

1 Kings 21.1-29

Reference:  v.4  So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers."  He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat. (NIV Bible)

Explore:  I'm finding myself surrounded by more and more children lately.  Sure enough there is an easy explanation for that.  Firstly, I help to run a playgroup each week.  Secondly, I have moved into the 'young family capital of Melbourne'.  And thirdly, more of my friends are at the age where they are starting to have children of their own.  With that in mind, I could not help but be amused when I saw my friend's toddler chuck a tantrum the other day.  We have no idea what he was frustrated about but the only way he knew how to communicate was throw his hands around, screw his face up and make lots of loud noise.  While it was probably not the best response for us adults to give, it was very difficult not to laugh!  It seemed ridiculous to act so badly over something so small.

Application:  While my little friend may have acted badly I have reflected that as adults, we often act worse.  The difference is that adult's behaviour tends to have a bigger impact on the people around them.  Take Ahab for example.  He did not get his own way (he wanted to buy a vineyard and the owner wouldn't depart with the land he had inherited) so Ahab went home and sulked!  We are talking about the king of Samaria, and he's sulking in his bedroom! And due to his response and his bad choice in wives, the owner of the vineyard is murdered for the sake of Ahab's mood swings.  While as adults we may not throw our hands around, screw our faces up and make lots of loud noise, we can behave incredibly badly.  And often our actions will take a greater toll on other people.  Sure, our adult tantrums may not lead to someone being murdered but often our behaviour leads to someone else being affected.  It may be their mood, their time or their resources being affected, but either way we need to take more time to realise the affect our behaviour has on others.

Prayer:  Lord, so often we get consumed in our own thoughts and feelings that we have a negative affect on the people around us.  Help us to control our feelings and work through disappointment and frustration in positive ways.  Amen.

Have you noticed an adult tantrum lately?  How could this have been expressed differently? 

1 Kings