When we interact with people, whether they are like-minded and have the same values or not, with every situation and interaction there is the possibility of being annoyed, having a disagreement, or having a conflict. My secret weapon for dealing with annoying people and conflict is, you guessed it, LOVE!
There are those people who knowingly try to annoy you, and then there are those who, try as they might not annoy you still do.
It’s easy to walk in love when it’s a small matter, not something that can cause serious conflict. When someone does something that annoys you because you just don’t like a certain thing done or said a certain way it’s easy to get over it because the other person did not knowingly do anything wrong, and besides we can’t always have things our way. However, it’s quite another thing to walk in love when someone does things to intentionally annoy and you to get under your skin.
There are times when healthy disagreements arise – the kind in which you agree to disagree with a person but keep on walking together because you’re going in the same direction and your agreement far outweighs your differences.
In these types of disagreements you and the other party are mature enough to disagree and move forward together with mutual respect.
However there are the types of disagreements that turn into conflict – serious disagreements that are protracted.
There are those people who no matter what you do, they will always find a point of disagreement with you. They enjoy conflict and thrive on it. This is how wars are started between countries, people groups, and family and friendships.
It only takes one disagreement where there is no love and humility, no desire to resolve the issue to separate people, sometime for good.
This can happen with people you love or with strangers or acquaintances. The devil uses the annoyances, healthy disagreements, protracted disagreements that become conflicts with people we care about and with people we don’t even know try to get us to step out of love. But God also uses those same situations and those same people to get us step all the way into love and be perfected in our love toward others.
If you don’t employ love as your secret weapon and allow it to cover ALL offenses you’re not safe, not even in your closest relationships from little annoyances turning into strife, offense, and unresolved conflict.
Love – the secret weapon that covers every offense!
Love is patient and kind. It 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. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. When we have experienced God’s love and allowed it to be developed in us, we can demonstrate His love to others, even those annoying people that try to work you nerves!
Beloved, I dare you to employ love!
Some people may not even realize when they try to annoy you, disagree with you, or insist on entering to conflict with you, that you are operating in the love of God. They will wonder why they cannot get under your skin, why you are sincere in your kind attitude toward them regardless of what they do. But sooner or later they will want to know your secret, and that’s when you can tell them about Jesus!!
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