Love is not rude

This dare wasn't that hard for me. I think most of the spiteful things I say are out of fun and not to hurt others. There are other times, however, when I am irritable and rude words might come out, or some form of passive-aggression, and those are intended to control others' behavior. I have learned that controlling others is in vain and completely futile. Not only that, but it is irritating to be on the receiving end of a controlling person, so why inflict that on somebody else? All we can do is focus on fixing ourselves and learn to love others, despite their faults. Saying rude things will not make them change; in fact, anything hateful will only produce more hate.

Speaking of, Day 6- Love is not irritable. This will probably be the hardest for me thus far. People can be downright irritating sometimes. They can be difficult to get along with, hard to please, untrustworthy, project their problems onto us, don't meet our expectations, don't always accept us or see us for who we are, and the list goes on. In our youth, it is easy to get along with our playmates. Children can be fighting one second and playing well the next. For adults the brooding lasts much longer, the hurts are deeper, and forgiveness is slower to come by.

"The more I know people, the better I like my dog." -Mark Twain

As I get older, it gets harder to deal with others' sins and insecurities because they're more apparent to me now. In my youth, I was naive and saw the good in just about everybody. But after getting hurt by close people whom I trusted, I became more aware of their sinful nature (and my own, for that matter). Add people to any mix, and you're bound to get complications. People are messy. They're difficult to love, but we're called to love difficult people.

When you’re irritable, the heart of the problem is primarily a problem of the heart. Being easily angered is an indicator that a hidden area of selfishness or insecurity is present where love is supposed to rule. These motivations can never be satisfied. But when love enters your heart, it calms you down and inspires you to quit focusing on yourself. It loosens your grasp and helps you let go of unnecessary things.

TODAY'S DARE

Choose today to react to tough circumstances in your relationships in loving ways instead of with irritation. Begin by making a list of areas where you need to add margin to your schedule. Then list any wrong motivations that you need to release from your life.

Things to ponder:

Where do you need to add margin to your life? When have you recently overreacted? What was your real motivation behind it?