Good Morning,
I hope your day is going well. I hope that you accomplish some things that are on your agenda.
I have a serious question. How do you keep from going off on people?
In my heart, I hear a very thoughtful christian responding that you do that by obeying the scripture that says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”, and I say, “Good answer”, but how do you do that? How do you get the mind of Christ in you in order to keep from going off on people?”
Hmmm! Perhaps there is no one set answer because what works for one person may not work for others but I have some suggestions as to how to get the mind of Christ that might work for you, so assuming that you already attend a good Godly Church, Here is a list.
1. Jesus went up into the mountain to pray. Perhaps it is time for a getaway. Perhaps a vacation is in order. I remember when I was so poor that I couldn’t even PAY attention. LOL! I took a vacation at home. I cut off the phone calls other than essential loved ones. I made some burgers and loaded up on my favorite TV programs one weekend and it helped. I emerged with a renewed spirit.
2. Bible Study is also on the table. You know the verse, “Study to show yourself approved.” Studying the Bible, especially those scriptures that are encouraging and inspiring. You know the ones, “The Lord is my Shepherd” verses, the, “more than conquerors”, verses, the Sermon on the Mount or any of the verses in the book Proverbs. They can be a good help. Here’s another one.
3. Listen to an encouraging biblical preacher. You know some preachers are good and biblical but not necessarily encouraging. Then there are preachers who have a special gift of encouragement like Barnabus of the New Testament. Church Swindoll is a preacher who does it for me. Some like Charles Stanley. Perhaps I will listen to him again one day after I get over some personal issues that I had with him.
4. Practice. Actually practice not going off on people. Practice does not make perfect, but it does make improvement. Oh here’s a good one.
5. Telegraphing. We can often feel ourselves getting ready to go off before we actually do it. If heart and mind has telegraphfed it for you, try to head it off. Calm down. Take chill pill. (By the way, when a person is angry, don’t tell them to calm down. That only makes them angrier.) I drove 50 minutes to an appointment only to find out that the person never called to cancel it. I felt myself getting angry but within a split second I went in stand-down mode and dealt with it calmly and christianly. Believe me. Telegraphing works.
6. Be good to yourself. When you do go off, be repentant but don’t beat up on yourself because you went off. Just resolve to keep trying.
Those are just a few suggestions. What are your suggestions?
By the way. Some are now asking, “What inspired this TfTD?” My response is, “None of your business.” LOL! I do wish you a great, God-inspired day. He’s such an awesome God. He is so forgiving.
Let me get back to preparing for the Bible Revival podcast that we produce once a week.
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