Le me give a few examples:
#1. A relative of mine recently invited my wife and me over for dinner at 7 o' clock. Because this relative lives in Vegas, it was only natural that there was a lot of traffic and I really don't know my way around the city. While we were on our way there, my relative called us at 7 and asked where we were at and why we had not called to tell them we were going to be late and in an upset tone, then hung up the phone. When we arrived, instead of being greeted at the door like guests, we were yelled at because they had took the time to make food and now it was cold and dinner was ruined. What happened here was they placed more value and importance on food than my wife and I, who are people with feelings. We didn't mean to be late, and instead of being happy that we even came over or glad that were weren't involved in a car accident, they yelled at us and made us feel like crap. We still apologized, using this concept of the importance of their feelings and trying to understand why they were upset.
#2. I notice often that a lot of families strive to get to church on time. When you have a ton of kids ( or no kids at all) it seems pretty hard to do though. At least that is what I have noticed from observation. I often see families stroll in upset with each other because they didn't get their on time. I always felt like church was a place for families to feel love and be happy together, so I think that people should remember that. Its ok to show up late, church isn't about being on time, it's about families, although being on time would be nice, don't let your tardiness defeat the whole reason why you came to church in the first time.
I have learned that we all make mistakes. People break things, have accidents, or accidentally insult you. I always try to remember the importance of the human relationship though. That is something that can not be destroyed because when it is, it is hard to be repaired. If my wife were to go crash our car into a pole today, what would my reaction be? Would I be mad that she ruined our car or would I be concerned if she were OK. If I were to be mad, I would be placing importance and value into the car over the importance and value of my wife. Inside we would all say that we would care for the person, but sometimes emotions take control of you in these moments.
Think about your relationships with people and where they are on your importance scale, especially the ones that are closest to us. Let us be forgiving, loving, understanding, and accepting of others. Try to recognize moments when you make this mistake of valuing objects and time over the value of people and see if by recognizing them and trying to remember not to do that, if it doesn't help change your relationships with others.
