very time I find myself tempted to sport one of those cute, Christian t-shirts or "WWJD?" jewelry, I am reminded of the many times I have felt embarrassed by the un-Christian behavior I have seen on display by people who truly love the Lord. Their t-shirts say so, anyway.

Knowing "Murphy's Law" will strike sooner or later and I will face a situation on the road, in a parking lot (yes, even at church) or some other public place that will tax my patience and sisterly/brotherly love to their limit, I choose to refrain from blatant advertising. Someone might be a good lip reader, or my children might be watching me, and then where would my testimony be?

We each come to Christ at different times in life, some of us with all manner of baggage from our former lives. God does not give us all the same temperament or EQ - "emotional quotient." What may cause one person's neck veins to bulge, another may calmly and even sweetly take in stride, praying all the while for the backsliding miscreant who is just having "one of those days."

Ah, don't we all.

The good, the bad and the ugly

Imagine true confession time in anger management class. Wouldn't we soon realize that we tend to expect others to cut us more slack in our human slip-ups than we ever would for them? As my grandmother would say, we'd have to "tell the truth and shame the devil."

The good news is it's sometimes appropriate to feel anger. But in his letter to the Christians at Ephesus, Paul wrote, "In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." (Ephesians 4:26-27).

The enemy of our souls loves to damage our testimony. If he can get his foot in the door of the church and divide Christians over anger-laden issues or personality conflicts, so much the better. Hypocrisy and backbiting tarnish the lamp stand of the church. If we're not careful, we can drive away those new to the faith or people who may be window-shopping "this church thing."

Marie worked as a server in a café/coffee shop one summer. She expected the occasional rude customer, of course. She was unprepared for the worst offenders, however. The servers actually hated to work on Sundays because they knew they would receive very poor tips or nothing at all from the church-goers. That's a sad, sobering truth. One evening, a group she waited on, which included a youth minister from her own church, left only a ministry calling card in place of a tip.

Knowing we will encounter all manner of irritating people and circumstances in this life - and knowing others, especially our children, are always watching - what should the Christian's response be?

There but for the grace of God ...

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul points out that no matter how gifted or super-Christian we appear to be, love underscores everything. Lest we forget what godly love looks like, he gives us a list of its traits: what it is and does (patient, kind, protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres, rejoices with truth) and what it isn't and does not do (not proud, not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, does not boast, does not record wrongs, does not delight in evil). In short, love "never fails," Paul reminds us.

Then, he hits us between the eyes: "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." (verse 11). Ouch. How easily some of us can revert to childishness when faced with life's unpleasant or unfair circumstances.

Paul speaks of an earthly mirror in which we see a "poor reflection" (verse 12). When I focus on that image, I realize I am as flawed as any other human. Yet, God's grace covers us all.

Think of another picture Paul paints of the Christ-likeness we are to emulate in Galatians. 5:22-23. The "fruit of the Spirit," Paul tells us, is "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Surely that beloved inscription must be adorning many walls in Christian homes. Does it adorn as many hearts?

That brings us back to Ephesians 4, a central passage in Paul's instruction for wholesome living. Again, he tells us that Christians will "no longer be infants ..." but "speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ" (Ephesians 4:14-15). He reminds us that we are all members of one body, each part of which serves a vital purpose to the whole (verse16).

Finally, he instructs us in verses 30 and 32 not "to grieve the Holy Spirit of God" and to follow Christ's example in forgiveness.

While all those laundry lists may sound like hyperbole - a set-up for failure - they are, nevertheless, the standard for which we aim. Remember, Jesus knows us inside out. "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak," he reminded his disciples when they could not stay awake to pray with him in Gethsemane on the eve of his crucifixion.

Snakebite prevention

Perhaps the most hopeful words Christ left with us are these: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). He punctuated that promise with a beautiful intercessory prayer in which he asked the Father to "protect [his disciples] from the evil one" and "sanctify them by the truth" (John 17:15, 17). He went farther, however, to pray not just "for them alone, ... but also for those who will believe in me through their message" (verse 20). That's you and me.

The next time we find ourselves in a situation that causes us to want to pull our hair out - that's likely mere minutes from now - we might do well to pause, take a deep breath and imagine our Lord and Savior interceding for us before the Father, praying for our protection from the evil one. That should give us enough time to reconsider the words about to exit our mouths or the gesture about to come forth.

Using Christ's example, we should try interceding in prayer for the object of our anger or frustration. That's a sure-fire way to stay the serpent's bite and keep our lamps polished and glowing.