At some point in your life, you’ve had to interact with someone who ticked you off. Maybe it was a sibling, parent, coworker, friend, or teacher, but I’m sure that if you think over the last month or even week, you’ll be able to remember someone who recently annoyed you.

No one likes being aggravated or angered. Annoyance is an unpleasant experience that usually affects your actions and words, not to mention your mood and general outlook on life, and it can lead to sinful anger if uncontrolled. But really, angering situations can actually be a blessing.

In many upsetting situations, we lash out at the other person, give them the silent treatment, or hold it against them for a long time. Those are natural reactions, and they come easy to us as fallen human beings. But if we’re Christians, we don’t have to obey that instinct anymore.

“Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil… Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:26-27, 31-32 (emphasis mine)

Now, just because you’re a Christian doesn’t mean people won’t get on your nerves, or that you won’t ever react in anger or at least be tempted to. If salvation wiped away our temptation to be angry, Paul wouldn’t have told us not to be bitter and wrathful. But as my emphasis shows, as children of God our lives don’t have to be dominated by sin anymore. We have the power to act differently.

Trying situations are opportunities to, “let your gentleness be known to all men” and to “be imitators of God”. Before we were saved our only reactions were sinful ones, whether they came in the form of silent resentment or insulting comebacks. Even after salvation, we can succumb to temptation and react sinfully to aggravating situations. But Jesus paid for all our sins at His death, and although we should repent of our sins, we don’t have to be ashamed of our weaknesses and failings.

We couldn’t save ourselves before salvation, and God doesn’t expect us to earn our place in heaven after salvation. He’s the one who enables us to walk in holiness, and our performance is not and never was the motivation of His love for us.

“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight…” – Hebrews 13:20-21

The next time you’re met with an annoying situation, think about the power you have as a Christian to choose something other than anger, bitterness, pride, hatred, and unforgiveness. Think about the impact it might make on the people observing your responses – children, siblings, coworkers – if you respond with patience and love. Use the situations you face to grow your character and better embody Christ, even when it feels impossible.

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not preset your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” – Romans 7:12-14