He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
- Proverbs 14:29
Many Christians are hasty of spirit.
We see the spiritual armchair experts retorting on facebook in anger to other Christians until a mini-war ensues. We see it in face-to-face Biblical arguments, where responses come even before the whole story has unfolded. Why do we think we are so wise that we can cut someone off mid-sentence, considering we know the ending? Why do we think we need to respond to some people anyhow? What is missing in our lives that we feel the need to respond here and now? The scripture states that our hasty spirit exalts folly. It promotes foolishness, not the wisdom we think we are displaying.
As Christians, the Lord allows us to be scripturally wise and knowledgeable with a deep understanding of the ways of life. However, that only happens if we take up that challenge and keep our minds, mouths and keyboards controlled under the power and discipline of Jesus Christ.
There is no folly in discretion, nor is there uncontrolled or unrighteous anger or wrath. We exalt Christ within us. When we are hasty of spirit, we promote ourselves, full of folly, placing ourselves on a pedestal instead of the humility of Christ within us. These are easy mistakes to make, and we have all made them. There are plenty of times we have been hasty of spirit, as it is part of the course we are on. We are being taken from a place of ego to a place of profound humility exalting only the Christ within us. People see that same Christ and want to know more; they want to know what is this beautiful spirit within us that makes us so peaceful and joyful to be around. Being slow to wrath is of great understanding, but what do we understand? We understand that there is a higher goal than merely responding to someone whom we think needs correcting. We know that many people have different views on life, rightly or wrongly, and more protracted approach and friendship may achieve a better result. Christ used wisdom in His approach to comments and questions. He thought before he responded, holding the principle of love as his measure. We could do the same. It’s all part of the journey. Today’s Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for this verse. It challenges me and shows me I have made plenty of mistakes and exalted folly often in my life. Please help me to think before I retort. Please help me abide by the principles of love for God and love for others, which I ignore when I am hasty in spirit.
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