Handling difficult people

Introduction: Living with a difficult person is an awful situation to be in. There are some people that have psychological challenges and create problems for others while some people are just mean. Some can be so overly critical that you are never at ease in their presence. Whatever the disposition of the difficult person, the effect of interacting with difficult people can be stressful. We come in contact with people in the home, at church, work place and at social events. We shall study how to dispose ourselves to be able to stay on course, and hence to overcome the effect of stress associated with being with difficult people.

 Text: 1Sam 25:3-37

·         Who was Nabal? Compare his character with Abigail’s.

·         How was Nabal viewed by: a) his servant, and, b) his wife?

·         Discuss Abigail’s method in handling Nabal’s behaviour, in regards to: a) timing to speak, b) shielding her family from trouble, and, c) use of wise speech.

·         General principles:

Be proactive

Develop empathy

Keep your principles

Be patient

Have a confidant

Summary: Perhaps one menace that has overtaken us in this time in history is the fact that people skills are so poor that it has become imperative for it to be taught in by professionals, and without which we lose our employability. Being children of light, we are to show the world how they should live by our conduct and by the way we handle others that we encounter in the course of our work.