Irratable and being easily provoked
“Love…is not easily provoked” (1 Cor. 13:4,5). Often we think of love in terms of a feeling or emotion. But here, God describes it as a demeanor in which we are not easily provoked towards potentially irritating people and circumstances. This is tough. Life is never lived in the sterile confines of a sinless, utopian laboratory well-removed from the Curse’s numerous provocations. This side of heaven, we are either about to be provoked, being provoked, just having been provoked, or some combination of the three. Everything inside and outside of us has the potential to provoke in one way or another. The inspired word, translated “provoked,” means “to stir to anger ,” “to be irritated,” or “incensed” (TDNT, 5:857). It carries the idea of a tendency towards irritability, petulance, or annoyance . This is the individual whose external, or internal, demeanor tends towards exasperation, irritation , impatience, or resentment in response to people and circumstances. This could include some