I was waiting at a stop light on my way to church.

The guy in front of me was in an Audi convertible with the top down, talking on his cell phone. He adjusted his rearview mirror to look at himself and straighten his hair. I could be wrong, but I bet he winked at his reflexion from behind mirrored shades.

He stopped short of blowing himself a kiss.

At times, that image might make me laugh. Other times it could make me feel sorry for him. But on that day it got on my nerves.

"Dude, you look like an idiot."

A half hour later, I was standing in church, trying to get into the service, and next to me was another nerve grater. She was one of those who had a decent, but not great, singing voice. And, she wanted everyone to hear it. So, she'd make up harmonies and fill in silent gaps with repeated lyrics. If the song leader sang, "I just want to be where you are" she would fill in the space before the next sentence, "Where you are is where I want to be."

No, really.

And, you guessed it, she was driving me nuts.

Then, last night, I was at a conference. The speaker was great. And the lady behind me definitely thought so because every time the preacher made a point she would moan, "Mmmmmmmmm" in a way that made me think she was eating chocolate while getting a foot massage. And when she wasn't verbalizing her affirmation, she was clearing her throat...again, and again.

"Lady, would you please just shut up?"

And in all these situations, there was the thought, "What is wrong with me?"

How can I be a Jesus-follower and let people annoy me? And more important, what can I do about it. 'Cause let's face it, the Spirit of God was nowhere near me and my attitude.

I don't get annoyed with people often, but when I do, alarms go off. "Danger, danger!"

Everyone's kind of annoying if you think about it.

Hang out with anyone, long enough, and there will be something worth a little nerve-grating. I'm under no illusions. I'm not an exception. If I spent enough time with a guy just like me, I'd drive myself crazy. My veiled need for affirmation, my constant striving, the way my knee bounces under the table when I've had too much caffeine... and the sniffing ... the incessant sniffing at times ... all of it adds up to a pretty annoying guy.

But I've also noticed, there is a direct connection between quality time seeking Jesus in worship, meditation, and prayer, and the level of annoyance interacting with people.

If I've connected with His presence people around me can, in general, do no wrong. When I've been with Him, everyone seems beautiful. Even the traits that are bothersome can become novel, or cute, when covered with His gracious attitude.

Just like being "in love" when the object of ones affections seems flawless (she spits beautiful), being in God, who is love, causes the same phenomenon. When we are filled with Him, people are worth celebrating. All of them.

So the next time someone is driving you nuts, slurping their soup, cracking their knuckles, or close-talking, check yourself. If it gets on your nerves,chances are, it's been a while since you experienced the presence of God.

We're commanded to love others, but like every other command, left to our own will and devices, it's impossible. It's the Spirit of God filling us that makes the difference.

Seek Him and see if annoying people don't begin to look really special.