Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges
Week 11: Chapter 10 — Impatience and Irritability
Read Chapter 10 of Respectable Sins. Key Scripture: James 1:19–20; Ephesians 4:2; Romans 5:3–4.
Previewing Week 11 of Respectable Sins
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 21-week guide when you’re ready.
Impatience and irritability are so common in everyday life that we have almost stopped seeing them — but Bridges shows they leave real damage in our relationships and dishonor God.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Bridges describes impatience as essentially a demand that things go according to our timetable rather than God's — and irritability as its emotional expression when they don't. Do you agree with this diagnosis? How does it fit your own experience of these emotions?
2.Where and with whom are you most impatient? (Consider: traffic, slow technology, waiting rooms, children, a particular person in your life.) What does the pattern reveal about what you are most attached to or most controlling about?
3.Bridges notes that irritability — the tendency to be easily annoyed — often shows up most with the people we love most (family members, close friends, roommates). Why is this? What does proximity reveal that distance conceals?