How should Christians respond to people who annoy them? | GotQuestions.org

In today's video, I'll answer your question, How should Christians respond to people who annoy them?

Then afterward, as always, I'll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end. Often when we are annoyed by someone's actions, words, or behavior, it's because that person has failed to understand or use a social cue that we think is obvious.

The person either cannot or will not interpret the situation correctly and then proceeds to say or do something we see as annoying.

Different people have different triggers for what annoys them. Some people are annoyed by bad grammar.

Others are annoyed by those who correct bad grammar. But there are some behaviors that many, if not most people, find annoying.

Using one's cell phone during a face -to -face conversation, talking during a movie, humming to oneself, exhibiting poor table manners, invading others' personal space, being late, picking one's teeth in public, and making all conversations about oneself.

There's nothing particularly harmful about such behaviors. They're just annoyances. But what's a believer to do when encountering people who do such things?

First, we must deal with our own reaction to people who annoy us. We cannot control another person's behavior.

We most certainly are called to control our own. 2 Timothy 1, verse 7 says,

For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self -discipline.

Many times pride is at the root of our annoyance. We believe that we know better and behave better than the person who is annoying us.

Again, we see the social cue, and they do not. We take issue with that person and his or her failure to properly behave.

After an inward check on our hearts, we must ask the Holy Spirit for help in seeing the person and the situation from their point of view.

A fruit of the Holy Spirit is patience in Galatians 5, verses 22–23. And patience is definitely needed when dealing with people who annoy us.

We are called to love, compassion, kindness, humility, and gentleness. These attributes should guide our response to all people, including those who annoy us.

There were several times that the disciples wanted to prevent people from annoying Jesus. At various times, children, a blind man, a

Samaritan woman, and a prostitute with perfume wanted to interact with Jesus, and the disciples or others desired to prevent them from bothering the

Lord. But Jesus was not annoyed. He never put social norms above loving the person in front of Him.

When someone annoys us, we must first check our hearts and then ask the Holy Spirit for help in reflecting

Jesus Christ to others. If love covers all wrongs, then love can surely cover annoyances.

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