Figuring out what really pisses you off and agitates you can be very insightful because our motivations and passions flow from our deepest irritants and frustrations.
Here are a few of my least favorite things. (I can hear Julie Andrews in my head.)
Church programs that ignore the individuals they supposedly serve. Churches have a one-size-fits-all discipleship pathway. They offer a very limited number of options they expect you to “plug-in” to. The assumption is they have the answers about what people need without even bothering to get to know individuals. I remind churches you are dealing with people, not cattle and the church is here to serve them in developing their Kingdom potential. People are not pawns to build their church organization.
Charities that run people through their programs, fill out the paperwork, and hand out the money; rather than partner with people to help them achieve their goals. The Great White Hope mentality lives on. It makes me crazy because they wind up devaluing the very people they are supposedly serving. They create a symbiotic, client/provider relationship which perpetuates things staying the same in the future.
Employers who berate their employees in public create an awkward situation for everyone. The employee is needlessly embarrassed. The customer feels awkward like he walked in on a family argument. The employer reveals a total absence of professionalism and decorum. It makes me never want to go back to the establishment.
While I am at it, employers who don’t adequately train their employees, but unreasonably expect them to be knowledgeable place them in an impossible situation. Training an employee is an investment in the success of your company. To not properly train your employees is a stupid business decision that causes needless frustration for the employee and your customers.
The common thread about these complaints is that individuals deserve a degree of dignity and grace. This fact is at the very core of God’s basic message to humanity.
