Annoying People
A good meditation ahead of holiday travels and gatherings.
People annoy me when they don't do things the way I want them to. Period.
This means they can annoy me when they call too often if I don't want them to. Or they can annoy me if they don't call when I want them to.
They annoy me when they borrow things, and they annoy me when they don't let me borrow things.
They annoy me when they decline my invitations and they annoy me when they accept my invitations and stay too long, or not long enough.
They annoy me when they get annoyed, especially when they are annoyed at me being annoyed.
Strangers can really get under my skin.
They drive so darn slow, or fast, or recklessly. And it isn’t any better when I encounter them in stores, especially when there is a big sale going on. They annoy me when they don't know what they are doing and I am standing behind them in line. They also annoy me when they are trying to sell me something, or give me an opinion I don't want to hear.
Snobs annoy me.
The over-bubbly annoy me too.
Children have a way of annoying that is both terrible and adorable. I can't stay mad at children, which really annoys me.
Adults know better, so it annoys me when they try to pretend something they have done is just a childish mistake. It won't work. I'm on to them.
I could go on, but it would annoy me if you did that so I’ll stop here and share with you something that has helped me handle this most irritating problem.
I have figured out, after more years than it should have been necessary, that becoming annoyed is a choice I make. It doesn’t really have that much to do with other people or my circumstances. It is an attitude problem I must own if I wish to get better.
Sure, they can push my buttons and sure, I might react, but they can never push a button that isn't there. I display my buttons and in weird ways, I want, enable, or allow them to be pushed. Sometimes this validates something false I want to believe, or want others to believe about me -- like I'm a victim or I'm a really good guy.
Because annoyance is an inside job, it is removed through confession. I need to confess to God that I am sporting a bad attitude and that I have become the judge and jury of others I do not know. Also, when I do similar things that annoy me when others do them, I give myself a big pass. It is sadly true, I can be mean and petty.
Finally, after confession comes a request for forgiveness and the power to walk and act better in the future.
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalms 51:9-10 (ESV)
