Pet Peeves and Sticky Situations

Pet Peeves; we all have them. They can perturb in the home: my husband is particularly annoyed that I do not squeeze the toothpaste tube starting at the bottom. And how about the proverbial seat up/seat down challenge in regard to the bathroom throne? They can agitate while driving a car: Perhaps you have been tempted to slam on the brakes to alert the avid tailgater that you’ve seen enough of his face in your rear-view mirror. Don’t you just love the driver who feels entitled to pole position as he weaves and dodges lane to lane in heavy traffic? And how about in the grocery store: Perhaps you’ve made your way to the express lane only to find a shopper behind a cart laden with goods who feigns innocence as to the number of items that are really allowed in said lane. Have I pushed any buttons yet?

I, like possibly many of you, try to be patient and refrain from holding a grudge in regard to any habit, practice, or behavior that might be particularly irritating. But there is something that is often committed by those in retail that is especially maddening when the item being sold is more than likely meant to be a gift for another or something that is intended for display. It is definitely my pet peeve. I’m talking about the sticky price tags that somehow become hermetically sealed to the object, whatever it may be. I’ve had the eternally adhered labels stuck to the glass front of a picture frame, to candle jars, to mugs, to the covers of books, to cellophane wrapping on gift boxes of candies and bouquets of flowers, and even on some articles of clothing. It is a pet peeve that I hold onto like the tacky offenders cling to things themselves.

While shopping during this past Christmas season I happened to find bookmarks that I thought would be very special for some teacher friends. They had lamination on the front to protect the adage, the Scripture, and the appropriate picture. The back had places marked out on which to write the name of the recipient as well as the giver. I chose two and took them home only to find that the price label on the paper backing of each was as stuck and stubborn as any I had ever encountered. I tried pulling, scraping, lightly rubbing with a sparsely damp cloth, all to no avail. When I did remove some of the top area that held the pricing information, it still left the tacky residue behind on the bookmark, and that looked pretty unsightly! Eventually I had to use a plain white label to cover the messy back and hope that the front was attractive enough to keep the attention there.

In dealing with this sticky situation, the Lord reminded me of a Scripture and a principle of his that has literally stuck with me over these past couple months. I am so grateful to him that the sins we commit are not something that remain glued to us forever! God’s Word assures us that our sins are fully removed as we confess them to him. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, ESV). In the Old Testament we find these encouraging words: “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:8-12, ESV). We don’t have to pull, scrub, or scrape at the mess that grips inside from the offenses we so often commit. We pray and ask his forgiveness, and he forgives, and we are clean. We can also ask him to give us the courage to ask forgiveness of others and make amends when we’ve hurt someone through our actions or inactions, as the case may be. And note, being that we are in the month that emphasizes love, it is because of his great love for us that he grants us such a great forgiveness.

Pet peeves; we all have them. Sin; we all fall short of God’s glory and commit transgressions that are an affront to God and others. But, unlike the pet peeve I shared, those sins can be confessed and forgiven so that the Lord “’will remember their sin no more’” (Jeremiah 31:34e, ESV). They will not stick to us like an ugly, gummy price tag. We can be clean and free from all residue as we confess our sins to the Lord. As such, we are lovely and presentable just like a special gift or a precious item for display.

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