Disagreeableness

Hello, and welcome to this week’s devotional. We’re going to be talking about the negative impact that disagreeableness can have on us in our lives, and our ministry.

I live in a place that gets fairly cold in the winter: like having frost coating my windshield when I wake up. I’ve also seen plenty of funny videos of people who use hot water on those frozen windshields, and the result is often a lot of broken glass and regret.

Disagreeableness is like that hot water. When we try to throw our beliefs at people to get them to understand us, it can cause cracks in our relationships, and their relationship with God. When we stop and take time to let them warm u pto us and become more comfortable, it opens their heart more.

Proverbs 15:1 says “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” That harsh word is anything that is abrasive, or trying to change them or push them out of their comfort zone. It’s barring them from experiencing the grace of God as we have. When we’re gentle, we invite a connection. When we’re harsh, we close that door off, sometimes forever.

Being disagreeable also changes the way that our relationships form. If we always disagree with people just to be right, we live an isolated, lonely life. I used to have a problem of having a compulsive need to correct everyone else’s mistakes. That led me to being hated, and I was lonely. I learned over time that the best approach is to ask whether it is something that is imperative to be changed at that moment, and often it wasn’t.

Being disagreeable also makes others feel negatively toward you. They won’t like you much, and they will remember that above all else. It’s not how Jesus calls us to be, and it’s not how he would be to us. Jesus did correct us, but he didn’t do so judgmentally, rather he did so with compassion in his heart.

This week, I want us to ask ourselves: “Do I tend to speak gently, or harshly, especially when I disagree with someone? How could I change that to better reflect Jesus?” 

Thank you for joining me, and I hope you have a wonderful week. God bless!