NIT-PICKER! 6/25/10

Have you been called a nit-picker or perhaps you have called someone else a nit-picker? Are you a nit-picker? I guess that once upon a time I could be called a nit-picker because I was interested in the details no matter how minute they were or even how insignificant the matter was. In just about every group there are those we would classify as the token nit-picker because they are prone to concentrate upon the insignificant and complain about them. Belly-aching is one of their strong suits.

The term nit-picker came from Middle English which is different from Old English which is different from modern English. The egg of any parasitic insect was called a nit. In watering down the usage, the tiny body louse egg is also called a nit. Usually they can't be seen with the naked eye but can be found by feeling them and picking them off with your fingertips.

You have watched monkeys in cages digging at themselves, removing tiny eggs from their fur and eating them, because they have nothing else to do. Even a person who doesn't seem to have a life with important things to do will concentrate upon very small mistakes and faults. I have heard the expression; "they need to get a life!"

My sister Janice would peel the peeling of the potato with a pairing knife because they had worms under the skin. She wanted to remove the flesh just under the skin to insure there would be no worms. She also told me that our bodies have microscopic insects or bugs just under the skin because we had microscopic eggs on top of the skin. I never believed or at least didn't want to believe her until I read about the nit-picker. Makes my skin crawl!

In my younger days I would argue with the teacher about things that would have no importance at all. My Senior English teacher was playing a game with the class towards the end of the hour. The question I got was; "What is it called when the baseball team plays two consecutive games on the same day?" I answered; "Doubleheader!" "Wrong!" He replied! I said; "I am not wrong!" And so we argued, taking up a lot of the little time we had left for the class. I was a stickler and wouldn't give in when I knew I was right.

I still hold my ground but I have learned when to let go. Jim has taught me that it is okay for me not to always be right. Husbands and wives eventually need to learn this! Takes a while but so well worth it in the end. I certainly want to be under Jim's skin in a good way and not become an irritation at the same time. Becoming an irritation can rub anyone the wrong way!

"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17 If we are always nit-picking we hinder the works of the Lord. Sometimes because of our concern over small matters we allow Satan to get under our skin. He can't be seen but we know his works. When Peter exclaimed that Jesus would not suffer and be killed, Jesus turned on him; "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men." Matthew 16:23b

Being mindful of our mission in the Lord's kingdom is essential to our well being. Being washed in the blood of the Lamb, has washed away the teeny tiny eggs that would cling to us; keeping us encumbered with the inconsequential wordly affairs of nit-picking. Don't get me wrong, we are to be concerned about wordly affairs but not to the extent that God's kingdom takes second place.

"Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart." Galatians 6:7-9 By Jane Ann Crenshaw 6/23/10