Friday Fight 101 - Defending our Deficiencies

Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help me fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF101.

How many of us have the same daily routine, but suddenly something is different. Maybe a coworker isn't their usual talkative self, or someone is acting cold and negatively? Perhaps we are irritated when others act unwelcomingly, but how do we expect others to treat us when we struggle?

Defending our Deficiencies:

How often do we bite our tongue, hide our irritated body language, and finally snap at people with frustration yet show ourselves grace in the same area? Of course, we all have deficiencies in our personal, emotional, and spiritual lives where we lack maturity; none of us are perfect. But how often do we look at what irritates us about others and apply their behavior to ourselves? We get upset with people for doing the same thing we have done at some point. Too many of us are in the habit of overlooking our flaws but are quick to identify the flaws in others.

Let's look at some common examples of being defensive of our deficiencies: When meeting for a planned event, do we get upset when others are late even though we have previously left others waiting because of our tardiness? Too often, people begin with a negative comment defending their deficiencies while being angry at others for the same behavior. Sometimes we need to take a deep breath and pray. This will help when we quickly overprocess or analyze how others speak yet wholly ignore our tone or harsh body language. Even more heartbreaking is not forgiving someone who hurt us but being upset when others won't quickly excuse our hurtful behavior? Here lies the problem, the recipient of our grace being only us.

This application can also be quite simple but still creates a pattern, like being upset about shoes left on the floor while we throw our jacket over a chair instead of where it belongs. Whatever the case there are various examples of areas in our lives where we show ourselves tremendous grace while either being irritated or sharing the flaws of others making things worse. Let's remember to talk to God about people before talking to people about people. Please allow this post to serve as awareness so we can be mindful of its application to ourselves and what we might be doing.

Darkness provokes the desire to blame others for everything, constantly stealing our attention. Doing so will inevitably open the door to anger or hatred. Complaining and blaming others is a contagious emotional pattern that quickly contaminates people and situations. Darkness wants a person's heart to be cold and abrasive, not full of grace and humility. Satan will always try to block forgiveness hoping instead to plant seeds of bitterness. So rather than being defensive, let's be more self-introspective in these areas.

If we want to preserve unity in our family, friends, or community, we need to be merciful to others and give them more grace than we give ourselves. We must continually surrender in our humility by practicing self-reflection when frustrated or upset with others. Showing grace looks different for everyone, but it is an excellent place to start. Let's remove our focus on others and place it on the application, correction, and, ultimately, the spiritual maturity in ourselves. Stay engaged in finding His presence in every situation; it will bring us peace and carry that peace to others.

Pastor Shannon

New Life Calvert