Why Do You Get So Upset?

When your child has a “boo-boo” and says, “It hurts when I touch it”, what’s the first thing you say? Don’t touch it. And this is right. If something is upsetting you, the first thing to do is to limit its influence. If the news is making you angry, don’t watch it. If social media makes your blood boil, get off of it. Learning to stay away from certain things is wise. It is biblical. Romans 13:14 – put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. 

But you can’t always stay away. Sometimes there is no way to avoid something. For the angry, and for the anxious, a “turn it off” approach is a step in the right direction. But it can’t be the whole plan. How many TVs will you have to turn off, how many websites will you have to log off, how many people will you have to put off, how many things will you have to swear off, until you realize that the issue is not outside of you, the issue is inside of you?

James 4:1 tells it like it is – What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? The reason you have a war outside of you is because of the war inside you. There is something God is wanting to do inside you, and you are resisting, and so you have a war going on in your soul. And that inner war comes spilling outside.

There is a reason that you are always just a moment away from exploding

There is a reason why you think isolation is the only answer

There's a reason why you always think something else is the problem

There's a reason why you're so easily frustrated

There’s a reason why you’re so quickly annoyed

There’s a reason people find you irritable

There's a reason why you're so often disappointed

There’s a reason why you’re so offended

There's a reason why people so often fail to meet your expectations

There's a reason why you feel slighted, unrecognized, under-appreciated, taken for granted

The reason is always related to pride

The remedy is always related to humility

Vanity, jealousy, and even insecurity is rooted in pride. Deal with that, and you’ll learn to deal with people better. 

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©