My pet peeve misophonia, literally "hatred of sound", was given this name in the year 2000. It's a condition in which negative emotions, thoughts, and physical reactions are triggered by specific sounds. Chewing ice, snapping and popping gum, slurping liquids, and a whole range of other sounds drive me up a wall. I’ve tried to live with the vexation these sounds bring me. I realize that I can't always have things the way that suits me. I have to learn to deal with discomfort.
Today a lot of us have been blessed to have things the way we want them. We have cushy pillows, firm mattresses, hot and cold running water, electricity and heat for which we do not have to stoke a furnace or chop wood. Our food is plentiful. Our surroundings are pleasant to spectacular. If we visit a city and don't like one hotel we can go to another that meets our requirements. Things have not always been this way. There is no guarantee that things will always be this way.
Contrast this with the New Testament's Apostle Peter in Joppa. He had been ministering day and night to the needy and preaching all over the place. Each night he went back to his five star accommodations with his bottles of Perrier water and five star meal surrounded by his entourage. You might be wondering is that really the way he traveled? It's not true. He had none of those luxuries.
You would think that after his miraculous ministry he would have been invited to the best homes.
Peter did not have a nice hotel or any inn that welcomed into their rooms. However what we do read is that ," Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon." *
"Tanning is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed. Tanning hide into leather involves a process which permanently alters the protein structure of skin, making it more durable and less susceptible to decomposition, and also possibly coloring it." The dead animal still have to be warm for tanning to be successful. Before tanning, the warm skins are unhaired, degreased, desalted and soaked in water over a period of 6 hours to 2 days. Historically this process was considered a noxious or "odoriferous trade" and. relegated to the outskirts of town." ¹
Think about this. Peter was used to the smell of fresh fish. Now he is staying with Simon, on the fringes of town surrounded by rotting things. We never hear that Peter complained about the privations with which he dealt on a daily basis. Comfort was not his goal. His goal was service to God. This was carried out by being involved and living with those around him even in a smelly place.
As we enter this thanksgiving week let us remember the secret to being satisfied. "..And having food and raiment let us be therewith content" Even if that is in serving or living among others in smelly uncomfortable places as we seek to serve God and help others. Yes it's taking a while, but I am slowly learning to be thankful for my good hearing as I deal with my misophonia.
Happy Thanksgiving!
1. Wikipedia
*Acts:9:43
** I Timothy 6:8
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