But Not Today

I don’t have to be annoyed by others. It’s a choice, although not always easy.

Photo by Dawid Zawiła on Unsplash

It is so easy to be annoyed by and at others. They do so many, in my mind, irrational and annoying things. And sometimes what they do ends up affecting my life.

Of course I don’t know that much from their perspective, and to be honest, I possibly never will.

Plus I already have so much on my plate to have the time, interest, and ability to try to understand everyone else’s fear or beef. (A small exception might be a very close family member — but there are boundaries even here.)

What I might do instead, which is probably at least as unhealthy as their poor behavior, is to seek to release my frustration by talking about them to others. It’s called gossip, and I can do this either semi-confidentially (because salacious information rarely remains private), or on social media where it feels so detached from the feelings of others.

But then I read this:

Love is patient and kind;

love does not envy or boast;

it is not arrogant or rude.

It does not insist on its own way;

it is not irritable or resentful;

it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

Love bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things,

endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV)

My clever words absent any care and concern for others can destroy fragile souls.

But not today.

Today I will be kind and thoughtful.

Today I will listen to learn more and attempt to lecture and advise less.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash