Loving the Unlovable

Do you have people in your life that you come in contact with and have a hard time "loving"? I do. I want to like them, care about them and even love them like Jesus, but it is so hard.
Reasons I find it hard to "love" the unlovable:
1. Don't see their own faults (act like they have none).
2. Has an excuse for EVERYTHING!
3. Thinks they are right about EVERYTHING!
4. Questions my ideas and suggestions.
5. Struggles to complete tasks on time or at all.
6. Listen without hearing and understanding.
Can you feel my pain? Can you relate to what I am saying? So what can we do when we are faced with that unlovable someone?
Things I tell myself to look beyond the annoyances and "love" them anyway:
1. Remind myself that Jesus loves me and I don't deserve His unconditional love. In fact, He loved me so much He died for my sins. If He can do that for me, I certainly can love someone that gets on my nerves from time to time.
2. I pray for that person and for myself. I pray that their eyes would be opened to truth and be humble enough to see their weaknesses. Everyone has weaknesses or character flaws so to think you don't is to think yourself perfect-and no one is!
3. I admit my weaknesses and character flaws to them in hopes of them seeing it is "ok" to admit them and move on.
4. I am honest with them and myself. Being honest doesn't mean throwing feelings out the window. It is important that when you are honest with someone that you are respectful and your intent is not to "one up" that person or appear to have yourself all together. You honestly want to help that person be better at their job, in a relationship or as a person, in general.
5. Put myself in their shoes and see what it is that might cause them to have these behaviors. Trying to walk a mile in someone else's shoes can provide great insight into a person's actions.
6. Find out that person's "Love Language." Gary Chapman has written a great book, The Five Love Languages that identifies how different people perceive love differently-words of affirmation, physical touch, quality time, acts of service and receiving gifts. It is amazing once we understand that person's love language than we better understand what is important to them which impacts how they behave.
7. I consciously work on not becoming one of those people. Anyone at any time can become the unlovable person. I remind myself that I am always one over confident comment, one incomplete project, one excuse, one head nod during a conversation and one challenging question away from becoming that person.
8. Find a confidant to vent to when none of these work or you have just had it. Venting is very therapeutic. Just make sure your confidant knows you are venting and not expecting a solution. My husband is my confidant and I survive the challenges of many unlovable people because he is a great listener when I need him to listen and a great problem solver when I need a solution.
We all have those unlovable people in our lives. Face them, accept them and don't become them!