
Following the church service on Sunday we met a new couple at our church for lunch at Panera, one of my favorite places to eat. After a great meal and some nice conversation, my son informed my wife that he had to use the bathroom, so she told him just to go ahead. He is at the age where he can go to a public bathroom by himself as long as we are nearby. He left and all of us continued to talk until my wife felt as if my son was taking a little longer than normal in the restroom so she sent me to check on him. I quickly excused myself and made my way to the back of the restaurant where the single stall/single urinal men’s room was located. Walking directly in front of me was another gentleman who also entered the restroom and occupied the only urinal, so as a matter of elimination I assumed my son was using the only stall. Unfortunately, the only way to get my son’s attention was to call out his name (which is Ty) but as I did, this guy standing at the urinal thought I was talking to him. Frightened by my voice he not only jumped, but also hurriedly turned his head around probably thinking: a) why are you yelling at me, b) my name is not Ty, c) you are violating the unwritten rules of the men’s room, and d) I’m going to punch you right in the face if you yell at me again. Luckily, Ty responded from the confines of the stall and, I think, the man finally understood that I was just checking on my son.
Have you ever attracted the attention of the wrong person? Sometimes, as in my case, attracting the wrong person’s attention was a total accident resulting from a misuderstanding; however, there are many people who attract the attention of wrong people as a result of character flaws in their own life. Maybe you are a woman who seems to attract the wrong kind of guys or it could be that you are a college student who continually allures the attention of people who bring you down. Maybe you are a church member who attracts the attention of hypocritical and negative people who are also attending your church.
If you are a person who seems to always be surrounded by the wrong type of people, it may be time to take a look inward. The problem may not be the type of people you are attracting, but why they are attracted to you.