Spring Festival, the beginning of a year is a moment of renewal. It is a new cycle of the year. Life should be perennially renewed from time to time as a process of transformation. It is a progress to better living, happiness and well-being. However, we tend to expect change in others instead of changing ourselves. Too much expectation on others is like putting heavy burdens on our own shoulders. We will be easily disappointed and angered. A very simple example is some people’s habit in clock setting. There are people who tend to set their watches or clocks a few minutes faster than the exact time. Some even set to the extreme of half an hour or an hour in advance. Instead of adjusting themselves, they are adjusting their time. They are too unwilling to adjust their mindset. This bad habit expresses our high expectation on others. Expecting people to change irrationally and we hate if people remain unchanged. We need to accept the fact that we can’t change and expect others to change. Jesus has pointed out that we tend to find fault in others. We often see a speck in others’ eyes whilst missing a huge log in our own eyes.
Once when I was at BCS, I happened to notice an on-going body language war. Not angry birds but two ladies were quarreling using their hostile body language. After the fight, the other lady turned away angrily and walked away whilst the other lady stood still angrily. I was astounded watching the fight and it seemed comical to me. Paul said, “Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts” (Colossians 3.15). When the peace of Christ rules in our hearts our lives will be transformed into peace and tranquility.
