Difficult People (Part 6)

Difficult People (Part 6)

2 Timothy 4:3,4 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

Difficult people love to wallow in their problems and fail to focus on solutions to their situations. Not only are they obviously hard to deal with, but they want others to join their 24/7 pity party so they can feel better about themselves. They would love to drag you down into the place they occupy and can make your day dreary and long. Instead of looking for the answers they need, they want you to deal with it. We've all had that negative, obnoxious person we wanted to avoid getting in a conversation with because they ask for advice and then don't receive it. Instead they want to argue or complain with you about something that often has nothing to do with you.

Christians feel pressured to listen to their complaints simply because they don’t want to be seen as callous or rude, but there’s a fine line between lending a compassionate ear and getting sucked into difficult people's emotional drama.  If you are forced to live or work with a difficult person, then make sure you get enough alone time to relax, rest, and recuperate. Even Christians can reach their breaking point with people who ask for the truth, but then refuse to accept it.

Living a Christian life in the face of relentless moodiness can be exhausting, and if you’re not careful, difficult people's toxic attitudes can infect you.  So remember that even people with legitimate problems and clinical illnesses can still comprehend that you have needs as well, which means you can politely excuse yourself when you need to. Don't stand there and be a whipping post or let the devil fill you with junk.