Shelf Life Awareness

SHELF LIFE AWARENESS

When shopping for groceries, do you consider the dating on canned goods and frozen food? I do. Sometimes I hit a good bargain and buy more items than I can quickly use, but I keep an eye on things. People wiser than me have dated the product to be used at its best.

I once knew a lady who stockpiled food. Perhaps you're thinking smart lady. Yes, she was . . . but storing and not using created some problems. After she died, her heirs were stuck with an abundance of bulging cans and food with freezer burn.

Actions Vs. Good Intentions
College roommates will tell you I hated throwing food away. Little leftover containers were filled with my good intentions and stuck in the refrigerator, only to be forgotten. Soon my roommates were asking, "What are you going to do with your biology garden?"

In spite of my desire not to waste food, my lack of action did just that. I'd open a container and see green mold or dark fuzzy crystals. Sometimes it even smelled bad. I got rid of it as fast as I could.

We all knew I'd have leftovers again, but I had made our lives much better by dealing with annoying items.

What's in Your Cupboard?
Let's say each life includes a Character Cupboard. It's filled with good things like honesty, generosity and determination. Also stored are emotions like joy, peace and love. Life is good.

What brings things to a halt, or at least slows us down, is when items get stuck in the back of the cupboard. Forgotten and out of sight, they turn rancid and sour. For example, love turns to hate, joy to sorrow and kindness to jealousy. Hope becomes disappointment and peace becomes anger.

Now and then someone pushes into our emotional cupboard and produces a bulging or rusted can. We would love to avoid cleaning out the offending product, but we can't. Others are waiting to see what we do.

Let's Get Real
One particular valid emotion comes stamped with a short shelf life . . . anger. Ephesians 4:26 says, "In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry."

Leave anger canned too long and it may explode, spewing out insults, bitterness and accusations. Who wants to be hit by the ugly contents of that emotional outburst? Not me. I much prefer people who are "slow to anger and abounding in love" (Psalm 86:15).

Anger is real. We don't have to pretend it's not. Anger toward injustice can even motivate us to do good. But it also comes in less appealing varieties such as wrath, exasperation, fury or indignation.

It's Personal
The sun comes and goes, and so should our anger. But we can avoid wasting energy on any negative emotions. Once aware of them, just give them a short shelf life. Don't let them sit in your character cupboard until they explode.

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Hello Darlis