A Lifestyle of ForgivenessSample

Every Day Irritations

Every day there a lot of opportunities to be irritated, get mad, get even, or hold a grudge. It’s so easy to get offended, isn’t it? And very often it’s the small things that get to us. The Bible says it’s the little foxes that spoil the vine (Song of Solomon 2:15).

We live in a society that is quick to blame, quick to get angry or feel put upon, and quick to vent about things that bug us. But that’s the opposite of the way God wants us to live.

Here’s an example. One day I took my husband’s car in for repair, and as I went to pay there was a dealership employee ahead of me at the payment counter, talking to the cashier.

When it was my turn, I almost laughed out loud at the expression on the cashier’s face. She was all puckered up and her eyebrows were furrowed in an angry glare.

“Hi,” I said as I gave her my paperwork. In response, she swiped at her face and made little “puff” noises, as if she was trying to rid herself of a pesky bug.

So I asked, “Are you okay?”

She glared at her departed fellow-employee and said, “Her perfume is just so strong! It really gets to me.” Everything about her tone and demeanor said, “How dare she wear that perfume?” She was clearly offended.

I managed to keep from laughing out loud, but I thought, “It’s so easy to get offended, isn’t it? Even over small stuff!” I was sorry it affected her so badly, but I wondered if she would let this event color her whole day.

Sometimes that happens, doesn’t it? Intentionally or unintentionally, someone ticks us off, even in a minor way, and we let it get under our skin and bug us all day long.

But what if we got so good at quickly and easily forgiving that, instead of notifying everyone that we’re ticked off, we didn’t even notice those things?