Need Help Overcoming Irritability?

Do petty things irritate you? Do people irritate you and you don't know why, because in your mind, you know they are actually pretty amazing people? Do you ever wonder what is wrong with you? Do you ever condemn yourself for the lack of love you display at times? If so, I can relate. There is hope. 

Recently I found myself moody and easily irritated by the smallest things. Loud noises, simple questions, mumbling, incorrect speech, and other inconsequential things. After a few days of being in this mode, and condemning myself for the lack of love I exhibited towards others, the Lord broke in and reminded me of this verse in Mark 12:30-31:

 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

The part 'Love your neighbor AS yourself' struck me. We love others as we love ourselves. It has been said, we can't give out what we do not have. We can't love others if we don't love ourselves. Simple, but deep, as my friend Maria says. If I am having a hard time loving others because I am irritated with their behavior, then in reality, I am having a hard time loving myself, and the person I am really irritated with is me. 

As I honestly examined my love for myself, I began to see how I had been irritated with myself. I had been unhappy with my behavior. My self-hatred sounded like this, "I don't pray enough." "I don't wake up when I want to." "I don't read enough." "I should do a better job." I don't, I don't I don't. My unhappiness with me was spilling over in my attitude and actions to others. What I needed was a fresh dose of God's for me. What I realized is, it's ok to be unhappy with areas of your life that need changing, but bring those areas to the Lord with confession and repentance, then lean on His grace to change you. Extend that grace to yourself. If you do something you don't like, deal with it in light of the cross of Jesus. Then forgive yourself. As you receive God's love for you, you will find that loving others comes more natural. After all, "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

Just a passing thought about entertainment

If Jesus lived here in our day, what, if any, entertainment would he approve of?

I wonder. Sometimes, when deciding if I am ok with submitting myself to a movie or program, I find myself asking, "would so and so approve?" or, "I saw them watch this, so it must be ok." What if instead of asking if people who we deem holier than us approve of something, we ask ourselves, what would Jesus think of this?

Another thought about that...

Submit yourself. When you sit under the influence of something, you are submitting yourself to it. You are opening yourself up to the messages broadcasted in what you are viewing. Are you ok with that?  ask myself, what is this movie teaching through the lives of these characters? Are they displaying actions and attitudes contrary to that of Christ, and if so, is this presented as good and desirable? If that answer is yes, how is this affecting our lives and distorting our views? 

Romans 12:1 instructs us,  "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Notice what happens AFTER we allow our minds to be renewed. We are ABLE (possess the ability) to TEST AND APPROVE WHAT God's will is. Not just His permissive will, but HIS GOOD, PLEASING and PERFECT WILL! Makes you wonder, if we DON'T transform our minds, THEN HOW is our ability to TEST and APPROVE the will of God hindered? That is not something I want to find out!