I’m Annoyed
Colossians 3:12-13 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
So, you’re walking through a busy shopping centre, and some young man cuts across the front of you in a rush. Grrr, it’s enough to drive you nuts.
In fact, I was sitting in the mall outside our office the other day, watching a frail, elderly man with two walking sticks slowly shuffle by. And out of nowhere, this young mother with a pram cuts across the front of him, so close, that she almost bowled him over. He took a moment or two to steady himself. Really, it was touch and go. It could have been a broken hip. Honestly. It could have been the end of him.
I was annoyed with that young mother for the rest of the day – it just kept eating away at me!
There are so many things that can rob us of living an extraordinary life. And right up there at the top of the list, are our emotions. Negative emotions can rob us of the good times. Just take that simple emotion of being annoyed.
Here’s a challenge for you starting right now: for the rest of today, count the number of time that you get annoyed by the little things that other people either do or fail to do. One, two, three … you might be surprised at just how many there actually are, just today.
And when you look at them in the cold, hard light of day, ninety-nine point nine percent of them simply weren’t worth the trouble.
Imagine you spend just one hour each day being annoyed at different little things. That’s not a lot for some people but still it’s seven hours a week, almost a whole work–day. Now extrapolate that out over a year and it becomes fifty–two days a year – the best part of two months, seven hours a day. Crazy!
But there is an alternative:
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. (Colossians 3:12-13)
The more quickly you and I forgive those little things, the more joy and peace we’re going to have in our lives.
I know, they don’t deserve it do they!? Of course they don’t.
But then, mercy is only mercy when it’s undeserved. And according to that verse, the reason that we should clothe ourselves with tender-hearted mercy to forgive, is because God first chose us out of his love.
And when we live out that love response, we live in peace.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
Blessed by this devotion?
Share it with a friend!
Respond