Respectable Sins: Pt 11 (Impatience and irritability)

Chapter 14 - Impatience and Irritability

Before I get to discussing the sins of impatience and irritability, I'd better share Bridges' definitions:

I am going to define impatience as a strong sense of annoyance at the (usually) unintentional faults and failures of other. This impatience is often expressed verbally in a way that tends to humiliate the person (or persons) who is the object of the impatience. (p116)

While impatience is a strong sense of annoyance or exasperation, irritability, as I define it, describes the frequency of impatience, or the ease with which a person can become impatient over the slightest provocation. The person who easily and frequently becomes impatient is an irritable person. (p118)

A few thoughts:

1. This chapter really seemed to apply to me most as a mum.  In fact, just as I was reading this chapter, one of the children interrupted me to ask me to help fix something they had been using, and I had an immediate demonstration of its relevance.  When I became a mum I was shocked at how impatient and irritable I would get with my kids, and I developed an impressive repertoire of excuses and self-justifications.  It's a sin I've got a lot of work to do in fighting against.

2. As ministry wives, I think there are probably times when we feel impatient with the people we are meant to serve.  I've always felt impatient when people don't turn up to do the things they've agreed to help with (the creche roster is a good example of this one!).  Here Bridges' words are helpful: "the actual cause of impatience lies within our hearts in our attitude of insisting that others around us conform to our expectations." 

3.  Another thing that occurred to me as I read this chapter is that many ministry wives become the objects of impatience and irritability.  Just a couple of weeks ago, I heard of a minister's wife who got an almost weekly email from someone in her church listing various faults of hers.  I've heard similar stories, so I think this isn't all that uncommon.  Bridges' words about how to deal with this are quite useful.   He writes that lashing out at the person is obviously a sinful reaction.  But there are two options open to you: (1) follow the example of Jesus who was reviled but did not 'revile in return' (1 Pet 2:23) or (2) confront the person who is continually impatient towards you and point out the examples of impatience.  He writes that "this should be done only when you have resolved the issue in your own heart and can speak to the other person for his or her benefit, not just to make your own life more pleasant". 

What did you find helpful about this chapter?