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. 

Luke 10:1-9

10 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” 6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” 

Jesus sent 70 of his followers out to visit villages along the way he would travel. Not the 12 trained and expert disciples, but the 70 – including ordinary, unexceptional people. These 70 were sent out with clear instructions much of which we will jump over as I want to get to vs. 5. When they arrived in a community and found a household that would take them in – when they entered the household’s home they were to say “Peace to this house! Peace to everyone in this household.”

The followers of Jesus were not to be particularly concerned if the people of the household were peace loving or not – that was God’s problem. They were simply to announce peace and live as peacemakers. In a country that had experienced much war and had an occupying army from another nation running their lives – the statement of peace was good news, of hope, or promise. And they were to remain in that house until they left town, they were to live a pattern of peace in the midst of the community they had joined. Not only declaring peace, but also living peace.

In a world where angry language is considered normal and expected, in a world where disrespectful language is used of strangers and those who are different, the followers of Jesus are invited to speak and act differently. To speak peace into households of people they have only just met, trusting that they are people of peace. Speaking peace into the lives of people who are used to hearing the language of anger and disrespect.

We are invited to not only speak peace, but also to live patterns of peace in the contexts that we find ourselves – joining into the life of the community. Not being separate from, but part with. And holding up the ultimate source of peace – “The kingdom of God has come near.”

PRAYER:

O Lord, we are humbled that you would give us the task of speaking peace in our communities and in neighbourhoods. Give us the courage to speak in the contexts and places that you lead us to. In Jesus’ name. Amen.