What the Drive-Thru Taught Me About Getting Along With Other People

I think my struggle to get along with people started at an early age. A girl named Tara chose to go with a kid named Val instead of me (I still don’t know why, and I’m still not sure what “going with someone” means when you’re nine years old).

A fellow named Billy decided he was going to get his kicks by bullying me in the ninth grade. (And he literally did kick me.)

A so-called friend, we’ll call him “Kirk”, talked about me behind my back to a bully named Billy. (You know who you are, “Kirk”!)

My War of Human Relations rages on to this day.

It seems even the simplest human interactions become a chore. Like the day I went through a drive-thru, ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with an unsweetened tea, and the guy working the speaker chimed in to confirm my order.

“Okay, that’s a double-cheeseburger, large fries, and a sweet tea to drink. Drive up to the window, please.”

Are you kidding? For crying out loud, that wasn’t even remotely close to what I ordered. Do you have to have a college degree in communications to order a chicken sandwich?

Maybe it’s me, but it sure seems like it’s hard to get along with people.

I started out thinking everyone else lacked social skills. After all, I tried to be a nice guy and wanted to get along with everybody. I believed if more people were like me, the world would be a better place. So, to keep the peace, I tried to be nice to everybody.

Well, that didn’t change anything. People often took advantage of me because they thought being nice to them meant I was weak.

So, after being a door mat in my younger days, I went in the other direction. I got angry and decided to get even. My motto was I’m going to get you before you get me.

Talk about a tough life — try living like that for over fifteen years. Everybody hates that guy.

For years, I wrestled to maintain civil relations with co-workers, people on the street, even friends. And I can’t begin to tell you how difficult it was to maintain a relationship with a girlfriend.

Can’t we all just get along?

One day, I found this in the book of Romans:

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Romans 3:23 (NLT)

So, that explains it. We’re all flawed…me, you, your friends, your boss, and the guy working the drive-thru.

Yes, it’s that simple.

And you know what? It’s okay.

It won’t always be easy, but I guess I should spend more time being patient with people because I’ve got my own flaws. Just maybe, if I chose to have more grace when others begin to irritate me, it would cut down on a lot of relation frustrations.

We have to remember that we live in a fallen world. People will let us down, and we’re going to let them down. I’m going to misunderstand what someone said, and someone is going to think I ordered a cheeseburger instead of a chicken sandwich. Sometimes, it’s going to be like the person across from you is speaking another language, and the love-vibe isn’t always going to be there.

No, we can’t always just get along, but that’s okay.