Yesterday, I heard a radio advertisement for a local restaurant wooing men to watch NCAA basketball from their establishment. The underlining theme of the ad was: why would you want to stay at home with a nagging wife when you could come to their establishment and hear a young perky voice offering you a beer and salivating at the thought of waiting on you? (Gag!)

I heard another ad this morning after dropping my kids off at school. Different establishment – same theme.

Then last week, standing in line at the pharmacy counter in CVS, I was behind an older couple. I felt so sorry for the man. As I stood there watching and listening to this couple, I could hear the voice of my Dad in my ear. (He’s known for bringing humor to absurdities.) All I could hear was his voice saying, ‘I bet she tells him when he can and can’t go to the bathroom too.’

Sorry for the crudeness – but this lady was over the top. She was telling him what to do; where to sign; where to stand; when to move. You would have thought he was handicapped. He wasn’t. I was truly embarrassed for him.

However, before I plunge into judgemental thinking, I’ve learned to view accounts like these through different eyes. Quite often, the Lord is trying to teach me something through such absurdities. He’ll allow me to see something that offends me and then will impress upon my heart how He sees aspects of me in that person. It’s raw to see variations of yourself in the very thing that repulses you. However, Jesus never convicts us to condemn us – He convicts us because HE wants to refine us; grow us; or perhaps change an area of our behavior.

So, am I a nag?
Am I that CVS woman?
Am I the epitome of those radio commercials that were so very offensive?

Listen to these Scriptures:

Girls, whether it’s true or not, we have a reputation for being nags. Is this true of you? Below are some thoughts I’ve asked myself…

• Do you nag him about his driving?
• Do you talk to him like you talk to your children? What is your voice tone?
• Do you nag him until he fixes whatever is broken in your home?
• Do you constantly give him a to-do list on Saturday’s or his day off?
• How do you respond when he tells you he’s blowing off his list to play golf or something else he wants to do?
• How do you respond when he asks you to fix him a cold beverage or something to eat while he’s watching the Duke or Carolina basketball game?
• Do you talk down to him in front of other people – belittling him?

That radio-commercial hit a nerve with me. So did the CVS woman. Let’s not be that woman.

(By the way, the ad was for Wild Wing Cafe – don’t go there!)

Tomorrow: We’ll go back to handling conflict. Sorry for the detour today – it’s been on my heart.