"He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly."
Proverbs 14:29
The idea of being "hasty of spirit" makes me think of some of the times in life when we just don't think things through, or sometimes we *know* that our reaction will make someone feel bad, but in the moment, for whatever reason, we think that they deserve it. And then, of course, everything goes wrong and we wish we could take it all back.
My brother introduced me to a kid's show called Peg + Cat, where the main character often freaks out, and has to count to 5 to calm down. I like that, and often try to emulate that in my life when I am freaking out as well. ... And it doesn't have to be that method, of course, but God gives us some *excellent* advice here about being slow to wrath, and whatever way we can implement in our lives to slow that wrath down so that our minds and our better judgement can catch up is going to be helpful... in leading us to great understanding, and probably helping us avoid a lot of pitfalls in life.
Let's not exalt folly or defend and justify our anger and hasty action. It's not our place to judge whether someone deserves negativity either. Those decisions are for the Lord, who will make it all right in the end. For now, we're all in the same boat, all making really, really bad decisions sometimes. Let's give each other a break. Let's slow down that wrath, and find that in between space between action and reaction to chill out a little, and modify our message. Let's show love and gratitude and kindness rather than lashing out or complaining. Let's do what we can to set a good example and make the world better rather than worse.
Proverbs 14:29
The idea of being "hasty of spirit" makes me think of some of the times in life when we just don't think things through, or sometimes we *know* that our reaction will make someone feel bad, but in the moment, for whatever reason, we think that they deserve it. And then, of course, everything goes wrong and we wish we could take it all back.
My brother introduced me to a kid's show called Peg + Cat, where the main character often freaks out, and has to count to 5 to calm down. I like that, and often try to emulate that in my life when I am freaking out as well. ... And it doesn't have to be that method, of course, but God gives us some *excellent* advice here about being slow to wrath, and whatever way we can implement in our lives to slow that wrath down so that our minds and our better judgement can catch up is going to be helpful... in leading us to great understanding, and probably helping us avoid a lot of pitfalls in life.
Let's not exalt folly or defend and justify our anger and hasty action. It's not our place to judge whether someone deserves negativity either. Those decisions are for the Lord, who will make it all right in the end. For now, we're all in the same boat, all making really, really bad decisions sometimes. Let's give each other a break. Let's slow down that wrath, and find that in between space between action and reaction to chill out a little, and modify our message. Let's show love and gratitude and kindness rather than lashing out or complaining. Let's do what we can to set a good example and make the world better rather than worse.
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