people’s buttons

When I was a teenager, I was hunting crawdads to go fishing with. I had knelt in shallow water so I could grab them. Then, I noticed the tail of a snake dangling near me. He was in a willow tree, which I knew they liked. To see if I was in real danger, I needed to find its head and see if its eyes were slitted or not. In Oklahoma, all poisonous snakes have slitted eyes. I spotted it, and it was about 6 inches from my nose. His eyes were not slitted, so he was just a regular water snake.

The older woman looked nice. Not an auburn hair out of place. No doubt due to the amount of hairspray she had used. Her clothing looked like an outfit purchased from Neiman Marcus. Sorry, I forgot to notice her shoes. In the last two weeks, April and I learned all we needed to know about this woman, even though our conversations only lasted a few minutes.

Every Sunday, she goes to the same Chinese restaurant right after church. The first week, I invited her to join us so she would not have to eat alone, but she responded, “Thank you, but whenever I dine with people, I focus on them, and I don’t get to enjoy my food.” The second week, I said, “Because you’re dressed so nicely, you must go to church before coming here.” “Of course, I go to church,” she responded rather sharply. “That’s good. Which one?” “I go to (name of church). It used to be called (old name of church). I don’t know. I guess someone got into the ear of the pastor and convinced him we needed to change the name of the church to attract younger people.” Then she went on to inform me that she plays the organ there and wanted me to know that she had for 57 years! I said, “You must be good.” “Of course I am!” It was at that moment I looked into her eyes. In my spirit, I heard, “She’s poisonous!”

When April and I got in the car, I told her what I heard in my spirit. Then I said, “I don’t want to be around her ever again. April, who has the gift of discernment, agreed. So why is she poisonous?

She doesn’t like or love people. She would rather sit alone and eat her meal.

She doesn’t like change. She likes things the way they are. Don’t you dare suggest she do something new or different. She will dig her heels in and give you an attitude like changing the name of the church.

She is full of pride. “Well, I’ve played the church organ for 57 years! I’m good at it!” Again, she doesn’t like change.

She is selfish. She wants everything to go “her” way.

She won’t listen to the Godly. She has heard messages from her pastor, yet she hasn’t changed. She has most likely ended relationships with people of God. Probably because they tried to encourage her to “love.” She hears God’s words preached, but they fall on hardened soil. A hardened heart. They take no root. They produce nothing beautiful in her life.

Sadly, she will never change. She will never become a vessel of God’s love.

In my life, I have come across others like her. One thing I have also learned is poisonous people hurt people. They will strike and bite you and feel they are doing it to defend themselves. Therefore, it is best to avoid snakes, poisonous people. I don’t know if she will make it into heaven or not. That is solely up to God, but I do know one thing: God doesn’t care much for snakes!

Some things in life come with “Warning” labels, like cigarettes. In fact, in the Philippines, they print photos of what “could” happen to you if you smoke. (see the attached photo.)

Wouldn’t it be nice if people came with warning labels? So, it wouldn’t take days, weeks, months, or even years to see what demon(s) they fight. And when they are fighting their battles, you get wounded. You would know what buttons not to push. Sometimes, when I get on an elevator with others, I ask, “What floor?” Then, I will calmly say, “I like pushing people’s buttons!” Most people who get it laugh but then hurry off when their floor arrives. The truth is, I don’t. I would rather avoid confrontations.

If people came with warning labels, you would know how to pray for them. There is a way to know what they are dealing with before it comes out or they tell you. It is called “Word of Knowledge.”

The word of knowledge is a spiritual gift that allows the believer to supernaturally know something about a situation or a person.

I wrote a few weeks ago about getting a “Word of Knowledge” concerning a young lady I had never met before. I asked her, “Why are you so sad?” She was surprised I knew and asked, “How in the world did you know that?” I explained to her that God revealed it to me. She was amazed and marveled until I stopped her.

I explained to her that the supernatural was only to get her attention, but the thing to focus on was what God wanted to do after getting her attention. In her case, He wanted her to know that He knew her and cared about the situation she was going through, which made her sad.

If you can know what someone is going through, then you can pray for them. You may even engage them like I did the young lady. At least you will know want buttons “not” to push that could make matters worse! One thing I have noticed about getting a “word of knowledge” for someone and sharing it with them and that is this: they don’t argue with you. They don’t throw out weak excuses as to why God wouldn’t work for them, and they don’t try to cop out with “religious” crud. Like, “If God is so loving, then why do children die?” One should seek to be given this gift by the Holy Spirit because, well, it works!

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,”
1 Corinthians 12:7-8 (emphasis added)

brady, mark a.

Words to inspire you

She’s Poisonous

It Sure Would be Easier