Do you take things personally?

"He who is slow to wrath (anger) has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly." 
                                                        Proverbs 14:29 (NKJV)

Have you experienced situations that made you wonder about why the person said, did or behaved a certain way towards you, and when you searched your heart, you couldn't find anything you had done to them to warrant that behavior? 


People are always telling us how they feel, what they feel, and why they feel what they feel. We can miss the message if we lack good understanding. What kind of understanding am I speaking of? The scripture text above explains it all. There are times when we encounter negative behavior from others; it can come from un-believers as well as fellow believers. The usual tendency it to become agitated in our spirits and it sometimes leads to anger, especially if we are seeing this reaction towards us on the regular. 

How important is it to understand ourselves? I've learned that it is imperative that we have a good understanding about ourselves as well as human nature.  Use yourself as an example; every reaction, response, or words you've spoken and how they were uttered was connected to something that was going on deep inside. Is that not true? There is always a reason for the way we feel, and how we respond out of those feelings. If you know yourself well enough, you'll begin to tackle the first part of the 'why' someone does what they do. They have a 'reason'. Now grant it, they may not have a legitimate reason for treating you the way they do but know that they have a reason. There is something behind the side eye, the cold shoulder, isolation, the stares, the attitude, and the insensitivity.

If we're quick to respond with anger, or angry emotion, it shows that we lack understanding of ourselves. The individual who responds this way is in all actuality, behaving foolishly. The thing to do is to take a step back and really look at the situation.

People are often revealing things about themselves to us, whether it comes in the form of negative behavior or pleasantry. There are things lurking deep within the individual that rises to the surface when we're around for some reason. You either bring out the best in them or the worst in them, and still, it may have nothing to do with anything you've done to them.

Avoid becoming agitated and angry with others. Learn to look below the surface to identify what their problem really is. There are jealousies, envy, lack of peace, insecurities, and discontent that is usually found there. Did you know that how a person treats you is a reflection of how they feel about themselves? Do you know that it also speaks to how they feel about God? Yes, this is true!

Some may feel as though God has failed them in some way by not giving them what they feel they deserved, be it attention, affirmation, confidence, opportunities, and things of that nature. So, when they see you walk in the room with a smile on your face, confidently addressing those in the room, happy and contented as you minister using your God-given skills, they start hating on you by facial expressions, coldness, avoidance, etc. In this they are showing how upset they are with God, and how unhappy they are within themself, and they take it out on you.

We cannot go around taking these things personally unless there is a good and legitimate reason why we should. Just know this, 'Everything Ain't About You'! Keep it moving, pray for them, they need it. Keep your head up and continue to fulfill the purposes God has for your life. It's a New Year, make it count!!