In one of his sermons, Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov once said, "An irritable person lives under the illusion that for their soul to be at peace, there must be no irritating factors. But this is self-deception. If your children become as obedient as the cobras of a fakir, you’ll find your husband's socks annoying. If he learns to pick up after himself, the wallpaper will start to irritate you, and so on endlessly."

This observation hit close to home. How often do we excuse our irritability as a reaction to the so-called "wrong" behavior of others? Irritation becomes a habitual, daily state of mind—so pervasive that we fail to recognize it as a sin.

I, too, often catch myself thinking, "They led me into temptation." But we don’t live in a vacuum, free from people, objects, or those pesky sources of irritation. Nowhere is it written that life should be a permanent comfort zone where nothing and no one can bother us. On the contrary, the New Testament tells us to "get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice."

"Irritation," which we often dismiss as innocent, stands alongside rage, anger, and brawling—serious sins that corrode and destroy the soul. Therefore, we must fight the evil within ourselves. In fact, it’s spiritually beneficial to transform situations that might provoke irritation into opportunities to practice patience, forbearance, and love.

When someone offends you, don't respond with irritation or rudeness. If you’re stuck waiting for transportation and start feeling irritated, use that time for prayer instead. How often do we let ourselves become irritated by our loved ones, when we should be rejoicing and thanking God every day that they are alive and with us?

I yearn to eradicate the spirit of irritation and stop justifying it by blaming others. Instead, we should seek out the evil within ourselves. Perhaps, this could be a small victory against irritability in our spiritual battle.

Original article: radiovera.ru/greh-samoopravdanija-marija-chugreeva.html