Stubborness — or Determination

ON ONE OF my journeys abroad, I once met a certain Christian lady, who confided to me that her husband was a stubborn person and that she found it difficult to deal with him. This had led them to the verge of divorce. I told her that this was not a real problem—the problem was in her way of thinking. If she thought of it in a different manner, her problems would vanish. Instead of taking him as a stubborn person, ‘stubborn’ being a negative term; she should consider him a determined person. Using positive words makes one think in a positive manner.

I told the lady that her husband was a determined person, and that this was a good and manly quality. A person who is devoid of this quality does not have the courage to face the challenges of life. And, therefore, one who cannot face the challenges of life cannot achieve success in life. The lady was a translator by profession, and thus proficient in many languages. She was of a gentle disposition and thus well suited to her profession. Her husband was a manager in a multinational company, where he was required to be tough in order to face the many challenges of the corporate world. God made her gentle, which met the requirements of her job, while her husband was tough to meet successfully the challenges in his profession. She should therefore have been grateful to God instead of complaining.