Have you ever said something like “so ‘n so made me so angry” or gone on and on about how much so ‘n so annoyed you; got on your nerves; spoiled your day and such? Well I’m here to crash your pity party. They didn’t do anything, you did. You made yourself so angry; you annoyed you; you got on your nerves; you spoiled your day. How? You gave your peace away.
Joy and peace are free, priceless gifts given to us that we so easily give away, more often than not, without a second thought. Remember this; your self-control is your responsibility. That’s all you. It’s all on you. People are what they are; rude, mean, condescending, self-centered, selfish, self-serving, greedy, attention craving, disrespectful, overbearing, self-righteous, envious, just pure evil. That’s the human being’s nature. Before we continue, please go through this list and check yourself, sometimes our beef is with the other person when we are the problem.
Now that that little introspection session is over… that’s just what people are like, each one is flawed. So when you make the decision to let someone else’s nature affect any part of you, you are making the decision to give a part of yourself to someone else. You make the decision to react instead of respond. A big part of it is our desire for instant gratification, if someone says something that ticks us off we want to respond right then and there and let them know what’s what! That right there is the problem. We can’t control ourselves to the point of allowing ourselves to calm down before responding, so obviously we can’t control ourselves when it comes to receiving other people’s natures. Wait… you don’t have to receive everything that’s handed to you. That right there is the first step. After checking yourself in the second paragraph, your next step is knowing that you don’t have to be these things and receive the dishonour of being “that person”, to others and yourself. That’s how you don’t allow that which that has the potential to take your peace to be in you in any way.
You can decide to not receive, react or respond to negativity. Protect yourself, protect your peace. Your peace is worth anything in your life that you consider priceless, only those things are worth your peace. What you wouldn’t give or pay for what you consider priceless, you don’t give or pay for your peace. It’s yours to keep and give away. Choose to keep it.
“If it be possible, as much as it depends on you, live at peace with all men” Romans 12:18
Yours Truly,
Tshepiso Molakeng
Quality Growth International
Quality Growth International 