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I’m not very good at shooting from the hip, are you? When situations catch me unprepared, I can make some poor decisions, choose words badly, and often make things worse. That’s why I need to have a plan for dealing with difficult types of people.
Remember when Jesus’ home-town crowd was so angry at him for claiming to be who he was that they wanted to kill him? Jesus knew it was time to leave, so in Luke 4:30 we read “he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.” In other words, there was no reasoning with this angry mob and Jesus knew when to walk away. Sometimes we need to walk away instead of trying to have the last word or convince someone that they’re wrong.
There were other situations where Jesus dealt with difficult people very directly. When the Pharisees and religious leaders got on their “high horses” and started accusing Jesus of all kinds of things, he was often extremely direct in telling them to “cool it,” if you please. But I notice that Jesus was never out of control when he was confronting these people. He knew exactly what he wanted to say, said it with emphasis, and did it to teach and help others.
If we are ever in a situation where direct confrontation is necessary with a difficult type, we should be ever-so-careful to make certain that we do it under the Holy Spirit’s control. It can be forceful and direct, but it should never be cruel or vindictive or personal.
As believers in the workplace, dealing with difficult types gives us an opportunity to demonstrate the love of Jesus. We have the power of the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and guidance and to control our words. Don’t you think we should be better at dealing with difficult people because we know Jesus?
Dealing with people who are not in control takes exceptional people skills. These may be people who are difficult for everyone to deal with all the time, or they may be people who are having a bad day. But when they unleash their emotions on you, you need to be prepared.