Why You Gotta Be So Mean?

As I was going through some picture files recently I found the following video. My grandson, Rhett, who was 3 years old at the time started singing to his cousin, Cambrie, also 3, the Taylor Swift song, Why You Gotta Be So Mean? Take a look.

After watching the video I got tickled at the thought of the next time someone is mean to me that I just might react in song. Can you just see me belting out, "Why you gotta be so mean?" The Bible says laughter is like a medicine. Surely the atmosphere would change, yes?

This brought back a memory of meeting my friend, Martha, for the first time. You may not have known this about me however, back in the day, I tended to be a bit of a bully. I was 6 years old at the time and she was 7. My dad always had a coke box at his shop and from time to time he would bring home iced cold bottled drinks for us kids. On the day of our meeting Martha climbed aboard her bike and began to ride down the block to where I was standing with my drink. I had decided already that I didn't like her so I began to shake up my Dr. Pepper so I could spray her as she passed me by. 

What happened next sealed our friendship to this very day! Just as she was about to pass, out popped my finger from the shaken bottle. I was ready to blast her! Only, not one drop got on her! Before I could utter the word, "Gotcha" I realized that I was totally drenched in Dr. Pepper! My plan backfired! She took one look at me and belted out the biggest laugh I had ever heard! My anger instantly turned to laughter and I can't tell you how many times we have laughed about it through our 40+ year friendship. 

1 Corinthians 13:4  Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

There is a lesson to be learned here and I think Taylor Swift had such a gracious attitute when she was verbally assaulted last year. Instead of arguing or trying to defend herself, she wrote the song, Why You Gotta Be So Mean? Did you see the standing ovation she received after singing it on The Grammy's? Even she was amazed!

So, next time someone is mean to you, try busting out with laughter, sing a song, or do a little dance. Who knows, you might make a life long friend!