Be slow to anger
Proverbs 14:29; 15:18; 16:32: 19:11
Proverbs 14:19 Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but one who has a hasty temper exalts folly.
Proverbs 15:18 Those who are hot-tempered stir up strife, but those who are slow to anger calm contention.
Proverbs 16:32 One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and one whose temper is controlled than one who captures a city.
Proverbs 19:11 Those with good sense are slow to anger, and it is their glory to overlook an offence.
The book of Proverbs in the Bible is full of wisdom and basic common sense. None of the verses above say anything we don’t already know. But seeing them in print does remind us of these truths.
People who are slow at jumping to conclusions and the worst-case scenario are more likely to gain a true understanding of what is happening, and therefore a better understanding of how to respond wisely and in a helpful manner.
We know situations where hot-tempered, quick to respond people, have just made things worse by their instant responses. And we also know who people are calm in the midst of others speaking over-the-top words and are able to say things and act in ways, so the conversation does not get out of control.
In a world desperate for heroes, Prov. 16:32 says the heroes are those who are slow to anger (they are better than the mighty, the athlete) and the one who controls their temper is greater than the person who wins a great victory. To have control of one’s temper is to have won the greatest of all victories.
And finally, the glory of those who are slow to anger – the key to their being able to do that – is to overlook the offences others throw their way. It is their glory, their best trait, that they do not defend their honour against every insult. Doing that is challenging, for we are taught to defend our honour, our dignity, and here those with good sense (the wise – the highest praise Proverbs offers to people) overlook insults and do not take offence.
Living this way is difficult, how do we get there? Patience is one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the only way to live the way Proverbs is suggesting, is by letting the Holy Spirit change us, transform us. It is by the action of the Holy Sprit that we gain patience.
PRAYER:
O Lord, makes us patient – that we might act with forbearance towards others. O Lord, make us patient – giving us the gift of being long-suffering people. Shape us to be people who live like Jesus lived. In his name we pray. Amen.