What's Your Trigger

The past few days have brought a variety of emotions my way through different experiences. Someone in my office who practises hateful behaviour towards me, added a new round of wickedness, childishness and downright "chupidness". At first I bristled with annoyance at her churlish mannerisms, and wished for some wind of adversity to snuff her away.

But somewhere in the midst of these vile thoughts, my theology kicked in and I wondered to myself whether this was not another ploy of the enemy to trigger sinful thoughts in my mind which would certainly affect my prayer life and of course my relationship with Jesus.

In the middle of regrouping after the attack, it dawned on me that every human being has something or things that cause them to rise up in anger, putting aside all rational thought processes and verbally reacting and/or engaging in regrettable actions. These are triggers. Those jabs that could cause World War III.

Hmmm! What are some triggers? A bad drive on the roadway, poor customer service at a public utility, a spouse using particularly odious words like “yuh always” or “yuh never”, someone in church commenting on your weight gain, weight loss, your choice of clothing, or a person criticizing your political or religious views. The list is endless, but triggers come like a dagger to the heart, and our response cannot always be measured and Christlike.

As I pondered on the whole concept of triggers, I realized that the secret to prevent them overtaking me when I least expect, is to identify them beforehand and if possible, count the cost of what would be lost when I react or retort in haste instead of first thinking things through. 

If you are a person who keeps a journal, write your triggers down and commit them to prayer. If you cannot think of any triggers, ask someone close to you if they recognize any phrase, word, words or behaviour that brings out the beast in you. I’m sure your “besties” all know what triggers you. You can even ask them for help, when they see you getting blue in the face, to point out that your trigger was pulled, and help you cool down.

Did Bible heroes have triggers? Of course: Moses lost his cool with the Israelites when they murmured about not having water to drink one more time. God told him to strike the rock once for water to miraculously flow, but  instead he reacted to his “complaint” trigger and beat the rock three times. His action cost him life in the Promise Land!

Remember Peter? He "cussed" the maid after she identified  him as being one of Jesus' followers

Do you feel a trigger coming on? Have a snack—The Word Snack—and overcome.