Recently I had a situation at work that was a very difficult and emotional experience. There was a fairly intense altercation I had with a coworker regarding something that I felt I was innocent in. It left me furious, and I was unable to focus for the rest of the day. Thankfully, God gave me the grace to not take any drastic action until I had slept on it and talked to a couple of people wiser than myself in such matters. The next day I acted on their advice and it worked out beautifully and helped to improve the situation at work even more than it was before. It ended up being a terrific experience. That day in my devotions I read this verse in Proverbs:
Proverbs 25:8-9
8 Do not go hastily to court; For what will you do in the end, When your neighbor has put you to shame? 9 Debate your case with your neighbor, And do not disclose the secret to another; 10 Lest he who hears it expose your shame, And your reputation be ruined.
It was a temptation for me to go to our manager and try to get the other person in trouble, or at least try to get management involved. The wise advice I received was to humble myself, have a meeting with the people involved and work to come to an agreement without getting management involved. It was interesting to me how similar going to a manager and going to a judge can be. I learned a few things about myself and my wrong assumptions about the other people involved when we sat down to talk about the situation. I also came to understand and appreciate them much more. It is not a profound thought, but a valuable one.