The way the Lord helped me was to realize in myself that I can try to control my environment and people's dealings with me when I am fearful and/or shamed. The experts in behavior science agree with this truth. That one little nugget helped me love the most dogmatic or manipulative passive/aggressive controllers.
Where I can't find anything to love in a controller or manipulator; I have no strain feeling empathy for someone afraid or ashamed. I choose to look beyond the offensive front of a controller to see into their pain of fear or shame. Recently I spent time with a young woman who is having difficulty working with a passive aggressive complaining controlling older woman. The controller has come through abuse emotionally and physcially from an abusive spouse.
I'm convinced the emotional and physical abused women have scars that can have lasting fear of someone else hurting them. This painful unfair treatment is doubling damaging because it comes from the man they loved and chose for a lifetime partner. "When you look past her actions...when you listen past her words and attitudes....perhaps you can feel her pain, " I shared with this young woman.
As we left one another we came up with a plan that will give the controller many ways to "control" unimportant decisions while this young woman prays for their relationship. Hopefully God will bless them with trust and the controlling manner won't be needed for the hurting woman to work with this younger woman.
Do you have ways that help you work with the "controllers" in your life? When do you find yourself trying to control others around you?
