In the mirror 

If everyone you know is difficult to deal with, here’s a heads up. Take a look in the mirror. The most difficult person of all is staring back at you. Under the wrong circumstances, I can be every kind of difficult person there is including some beast no one has ever seen before. Every personality type has a dark side. It shows itself when we are stressed, in pain, afraid, or depressed. Then we face the difficulty of dealing with ourselves. 

King David may be the most self-aware person in the Bible. He tells us more about his own good traits and bad behavior than anyone I can think of. When you catch yourself being difficult, read Psalm 139 and start where David did: “You have searched me, Lord,  and you know me . . . You are familiar with all my ways”  (verses 1,3). And be willing to take your self-examination as far as he did: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me" (verses 23,24). Then be ready for God to love you enough to send someone to point out your offensive ways. 

I’d like to be the stallion ahead of the stampede, the big lion of the pride, the front goose in the formation, the alpha male of the pack; but what I need to be more often is just one of the sheep of the Good Shepherd. Then I’ll be much less difficult to deal with.