For those who have a desire to serve the Lord, there can be the added frustration in feeling that any worthwhile service to God is over. Some are saved but have not grown to the point in their spiritual lives that they miss the opportunity of having such a ministry. These should be built up in the faith through a discipleship training program and then given the opportunity to serve their Lord. A critical and argumentative spirit has a spiritual cause, but it also has spiritual effects. Any Christian, of any age, can develop a contentious spirit.
Forgiveness is one key to avoiding, or to overcoming, an argumentative and contentious spirit.
The more air in the balloon, the greater the emotions. Bad feelings toward others are represented by the quantity of air in the balloon. Someone says something cruel to you, and the emotional distress that you experience is represented by a quantity of air inflating the balloon to about 30 percent of its full-blown size. You feel anger, but you respond biblically by exerting self- control over your mouth and your hands. You do not feel as angry as you did before forgiving, but your emotional balloon is still about 20 percent of its full inflated size.