Proverbs 15: 1, 18
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but the slow to anger pacifies contention.
God never honors a lost temper. We are responsible to take control of our own emotions and passions, and not let our flesh take us away.
It's not easy to control a hot temper. Italians, Irish, Latinos, and many other ethnicities blame their tempers on their genes, to excuse their own failure to keep a reign on their tempers.
No matter where your grandparents or great grandparents came from, we each must pay attention to our own "buttons" to not react when they're pushed, but to slow down and consider how our response will be taken by the hearers. And to cool down our own heat rising.
This takes time to break a bad habit and replace it with a good habit. And it doesn't follow a straight line, either. But every time we mess up, we can pick ourselves back up and start again fresh.
God wants us to use His power, in His Holy Spirit, to change our thinking processes concerning any bad habit we have; to rely on His strength to break the chains of bad habits and walk more circumspectly to avoid the triggers that trip us up.
We are to face our enemy when he attacks, but we are to run from temptation.
We can stand our ground in Christ against Satan, but we can't win if we try to fight temptation, we must run from it. So we need also to discern between the two.
I know that I need to watch my words. I am still learning to apply what I know: to slow down and pause before I react, to consider how my response will affect the hearer before I answer. And I try to remember to pray in the midst of the foray, asking for God's wisdom. That's the only way I can achieve victory over my past failings, to stop repeating them.
O my Father, You know how weak we all are, in trying to learn and follow Your ways. They are not our ways that we naturally follow, so we need to understand how different Your ways are from ours. And even when we know, we don't always do it. We seem to not respond when we see the light until we also feel the heat.
It seems that we don't want to change until changing seems less painful than staying the same. We're stubborn that way. So sometimes You give us "tough love" to make the staying the same so painful we will be willing to change.
Then we will slow down, quiet our tone of voice, and consider our answer before speaking. Then, instead of stirring up strife we can promote peaceful relations with one another. We can soothe down our anger to be able to appreciate one another's beautiful differences.
Father, You love a variety, and You have made us in many colors, many personalities, many talents and abilities. I think You did us this way so that everything would get done.
Some of us are concerned for our environment, and others are more passionate for people. And even then, some are concerned for people's temporal needs, and others think more of their eternal destinies.
So we're all different, and we each have our purpose in the World, to make it a better place for others and those who will come after us. And to prepare for the coming of Your dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, our King.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
