Short Beep or Long?

 I was paying attention, sort of. I was waiting at a light and already going through my upcoming day. And then I heard it. Beep! It was just a little beep. The kind that says, “I don’t wish to interrupt, but the light turned green. I like those kinds of beeps. They bring you back to reality, but don’t come across rude. It is also the beep that you to say ‘hi” or “over here”. I call it the short beep.

Then there’s the long beep. It says, ‘If your window was down and I was right beside you, I would be yelling in your window”. In text it would look like @#@#*!!*%@. Now don’t get me wrong, I have seen times where the long beep seems appropriate. But most of the time it’s delivered but mean people who just don’t care about being angry, rude, and obnoxious.

I myself am not a beeper. Not because I don’t want to, but because I seem to always forget which car I’m in. In my wife’s car, the horn is activated on the side of the steering wheel. In my car, it’s right in the center. To top it off, my car might honk, or it might not. Hey. It’s almost as old as my kids. When it does honk, it’s this embarrassing underwhelming “beep” that sound more like the Warner Brothers roadrunner than a car. Put me up against a truck and I’m gonna choose the better part of valor and just bow out.

So what does this have to do with real life? Well, if I have a choice, I’m going to use the short beep. Even if someone deserves a long beep, I want to be as gracious as possible. The bible says, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." (Colossians 4:6) Romans 12:17-18 tells us, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone”. I’m sure there are time that most people agree that a long beep would be fitting. I strive to give the person a little slack. You have no idea what they have just been through. Perhaps they just got bad news about a job or a project they were working on. Maybe they, or a loved one are going through a tough medical issue. I personally want choose to give them the benefit of the doubt. So what will you choose? Short beep or long?