What do my REACTIONS say about me? and about what’s in my heart? A lot! I love C.S. Lewis’ notes on our reactions being like rats in the cellar.

what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is… what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth. If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding.

what we are matters even more that what we do… what we do matters chiefly as evidence of what we are.

C.S. Lewis, from Mere Christianity

My reactions to insults, interruptions, corrections, questions from people I have hidden angst against. My snapping at my spouse or kids or coworkers. These reveal what’s really in my heart. I can excuse it, call it an exception, blame it on my ancestors, but ultimately its pointing to something that’s amiss in my life. Christ’s work in our hearts produces “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). These do not always automatically appear in our lives. They’re born out of being convicted of our sin and going to God for help.

Ask: What are my reactions saying about what I am? Ask Jesus, to reveal and replace for his glory.

Lewis finished this thought with a reminder of our need for God:

the change which I most need to undergo is a change that my own direct, voluntary effort cannot bring about… After the first few steps in the Christian life we realise that everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God.