Improved Annoyability
Being annoyed, being angry, and being fearful are so popular that it is almost believable that there is value in them. Actually, maybe I’m wrong, and there is value hidden there –
If so, would it be good to work at getting better at them? I’m not sure what I could do to make sure that when something goes bad, that I am able to be extra annoyed, so that I don’t miss any of the benefits of being annoyed. Maybe I could watch lots of horror movies so that I could stay just a bit more on edge and something not-so-scary could take me on over the edge anyway.
Silly, heh? If it really is silly, why do we retell the story about how we got mad today in traffic or when we called the phone company or however it happened, to the next 6 people we talk to? Why are we reciting our fears to everyone who will listen? Why, when I am mad at the last person I encountered, do I treat the next person badly?
How about we work out with an alternate response? There are better responses, that bring life to us and to the next 6 people we talk to… Like, memorize the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Less powerful, but maybe with some good effect, memorize the stupid stuff in the other list in Galatians chapter 5, called there, “…the works of the flesh…” (Galatians 5:16-21), and flag those items for removal from our skills sets.