Love Dare: Day 6 :)
LOVE IS NOT IRRITABLE
Love is hard to offend and quick to forgive. How easily do you get irritated and offended? Some people have the motto- never pass up a chance to get upset with your spouse.
When something goes wrong, they quickly take full advantage of it by expressing their unhappiness. But this is the opposite reaction of love.
To be irritable means "to be near the point of a knife." Not far from being poked. People who irritable are locked, loade and ready to overreact.
When under pressure, love doesn't turn sour. Minor problems don't yield major reactions. The truth is, love does not get angry or hurt unless there is a legitimate and just reason in the sight of God. A loving husband will remain calm and patient, showing mercy and restraining his temper. Rage and violence are a no-no. A loving wife is not hypersensitive or cranky. She exercises emotional restraint. She chooses to be a flower not a thorn. When things are prickly she responds by giving off a nice fragrance.
If you walk in love, you'll be a joy, not a jerk. Are you ba calm breeze or a hurricane waiting to happen?
People become easily annoyed for two reasons- stress and selfishness.
Stress weighs the heart down, drains your energy, weakens your health and invites you to be a grouch. Life is a marathon. Pace yourself. Increasing pressure can wear out both our patience and relationship.
Selfishness- when you're irritable, the heart of the prob is the prob of the heart. Jesus said, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. What's abundant in your heart? Limes or peaches? The first gives off a sour response, the latter is sweet even under pressure.:)
If you get upset easily check if these two reasons are present.
Selfishness comes in under flavours too: lust- where you covet for the forbidden; bitterness- where unresolved anger is unleashed under provocation; greed- wanting for money, more things until you're frus with unfulfilled desires, and coupled with dissatisfaction, causes you to lash out at people in use way; pride- causes one to act harshly to protect one's ego and reputation.
These motivations can never be satisfied. But love pours into our hearts, calms us down and helps us to take the focus off the Self.
In each decision, love helps lower stress levels whilst helping you let go of all the venom building up within.
TODAY'S READING-
Prov 16:32, Col 3:12-14, Phil 4:6-7, Exo 18:17-23, Prov 25:16, Matt 12:34, James 4:1-3, Eph 4:31, 1 Tim 6:9-10
TODAY'S DARE-
Choose today to react to tough circumstances in your marriage in loving ways instead of with irritation. Begin by making a list below of areas where you need to add margin to your schedule. Then list any wrong motivations that you need to release from your life.
TODAY'S REFLECTION-
Where do you need to add margin to your life? Where have you recently overreacted? What was your real motivation behind it? What decisions have you made today?
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