People Problems

Are you a “People Person?”

Of course it helps to like people. In one of my favorite “Peanuts” comic strips, Linus wants to be a doctor. His sister Lucy ridicules him, “How can you be a doctor? You have to love mankind.” Linus replies: “I love mankind--it's people I can't stand!"

Let’s face it--our biggest problems in life are people problems. There’s a little bit of Linus in us all.

People problems begin when we’re born. Then it goes downhill from there. We discover early on that others won’t always do what we want. So life becomes a quest to discover how to manipulate them so they will. But they’re trying to do the same to us. At some point our frustration kicks in and an emotional meltdown follows (also known as a “temper tantrum”).

The sad part is that we all have the condition and few know the solution. We’re experts at conflict (“He sure knows how to push my buttons.” “Look at what you made me do!” “She makes me so angry!”). Unfortunately human nature doesn’t come with a peacemaking program.

The result for many is a 3-D nightmare: Disappointment, Despair and Depression.

Some, like Seung-Hui Cho at Virginia Tech, turn violent. Others end up like James Thurber’s Walter Mitty: outwardly meek but living an inner life of fantasy adventures. But most become part of the “mass of men” who Henry David Thoreau said “lead lives of quiet desperation.” Thoreau observed, “What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.”

There are some bright spots. Babies are wonderful. But they turn into two-year-olds and then teenagers--and the disappointments begin all over. Even romance fades with time.

Whoa! Hold it right there for just a minute. Can I change the channel, please?

Actually, that’s a good idea. As long as we stay stuck on channel WMEE (all me all the time), things won’t change much. But be careful which channel you pick. Like they say, “Garbage in; garbage out.”

What we need is something proven to work with people problems. Something effective. And since you can’t change others, there’s only one solution: A New You. I’m not talking about turning over a “New Leaf” but getting a new heart. Lasting change happens from the inside out.

God diagnosed our problem a long time ago. When people kept disappointing him, he said through his prophet, Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.”

But good advice (even God’s) only works if you follow it. And the Bible is full of good advice about life. For instance it says, “Don’t show favoritism” to others. In other words, get rid of your prejudices. Now that’s easier said than done. What you need is a heart to obey.

That’s why Christians talk about being “Born Again.” When a person comes to Jesus Christ and accepts him as their Lord and Savior, a change happens. God forgives their sin and gives them a new “heart”—a new mind. It’s a new way of looking at life. For the first time, they are at peace with God and actually want to obey him.

After receiving unconditional forgiveness in our lives, we become peacemakers by offering that same forgiveness to others. That has helped solve people problems for 2,000 years.

The path to inner peace and peace with others goes past the foot of Jesus’ cross and his empty tomb. Faith in the Christ who died for our sins and rose from the dead is the only way to a new heart and new relationships with other people.

Listen to the Bible; it’s good for your soul!