Pressurized Cabin

Life can become a pressure cooker sometimes, and it's important that when things are on the verge of spiraling out of control, that we appropriate the peace of God. And, we don't take out our troubles on the people with whom we interact! Ephesians 4 contains these reminders:
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

Bible teacher and apologist Alex McFarland, a guest on The Meeting House on Faith Radio recently, in a conversation from the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Dallas, wrote a piece at The Christian Post a few weeks ago.  He tells the story of being on a packed flight from Salt Lake City to Chicago, which he describes as "full — of passengers and stress."

Alex had been "bumped" to First Class, describing it as a "rare joy."  But, there was not much joy being experienced by the man next to him.  He writes:

Besides the delays, my neighbor was angry about the meal offered in First Class. “You call this food?” he asked. Then he loudly announced, “I wouldn’t feed this to a dog!”

His increasing anger — and vitriol leveled at the cabin’s two servers — made everyone uncomfortable. One of the attendants, patiently offering the man every conceivable food or drink option, was rebuffed numerous times. “I paid for First Class,” he barked. “Get some decent food on the plane, for God’s sake!”

McFarland continues:

Everyone else in the cabin (me included) tried to compensate by smiling and profusely thanking the attendants. But it seemed the harder they tried, the more abusive the man became. I spent the majority of the flight praying — praying for the angry businessman and for the beleaguered attendants.

We've probably all been there in some form or the other - we just have to make sure we are not like the fellow traveler.   Perhaps we should emulate either the innocent bystander or one of the flight attendants with whom Alex interacted when the plane was on the ground.  He recounts:

Arriving at O’Hare airport in Chicago, I noticed that “grumpy businessman” didn’t de-plane as the rest of us passengers hurried to exit. For whatever reason, he sat while everyone else left, and I remember thinking I’d pray for him one last time: “Lord, please bring some joy to this man’s heart, and help him with whatever he’s dealing with ...”

A while later, rushing through the airport, I saw the flight attendant who had been the primary recipient of the businessman’s vitriol. “Excuse me,” I began. “You handled that guy so graciously. I’m sorry for the way he acted.”

He added, “I think several of us were praying for you...And for him.” He said the flight attendant "...explained that the man called the two attendants to himself and ... profusely apologized. 'We were kind of speechless,' she said. 'Everyone was off, and the man just begged our forgiveness.'"

McFarland says that...

...She explained that the man confided he was under much stress about some issues, and that he was sorry for his treatment of the flight attendants. “I have no excuse,” he told them. “But please forgive me.”

The piece begins to wrap up as Alex states:

I believe that God’s Holy Spirit and those prayers prompted his amends.

It did not surprise me that the flight attendant — who had graciously endured his treatment during the flight — was quick to accept his apology afterward. A small cross emblem was pinned to her uniform, so I assumed she was a believer. But her actions were the most vivid Christian witness of all.

Proverbs 19:11 tells us that, “It is a glory to forgive an offense.” Just as God forgives us, we should be quick to forgive others. Better yet (and I am preaching at myself, here), we should live so that no offense is displayed in the first place.

His last sentence, "Dear Lord, help us all to be kind to one another!"

Notice the response within three individuals: the angry traveler, the flight attendant, and the innocent bystander.  The businessman brought stress with him and the increased pressure of a packed and delayed flight caused what was on the inside to flow out - and affect others.  The flight attendant continued to show grace and mercy and did not respond in kind to his verbal assault.  And, the bystanders, the other travelers - well at least the Bible teacher on board and perhaps others were praying.  

We may find ourselves in one of those three positions throughout our lives.  And, ideally, as believers in Christ, we should allow the Holy Spirit to keep our emotions in check and not let stress, anxiety, and anger, flow out of us to harm others.  It's not a good witness, and doesn't honor God. But, he did salvage at least something by issuing what seems to be a heartfelt apology - and that's a helpful principle, too: we should admit when our actions do not reflect the presence of Christ and apologize.  And, if we're on the receiving end - we can be firm, but we can strive to be kind, even though that may be a difficult ask.  We can also recognize that, when we observe a situation where there is conflict and we're not directly involved, we can go to the Lord in prayer.  There is much that can be accomplished in the way that a believer responds in a tense situation.