"Slow to Anger"

“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” (Proverbs 19:11 ESV)

Very early this morning, before the sun even thought to rise, I was pulling up to a stop sign along with another car. As the car reached the intersection first, I waited for the driver to proceed through the intersection before I went. As the car passed through my headlights, I saw the driver give me an unpleasant gesture with one finger raised as he sped off.

My heart sank. Why would this person do this? I followed the rules of the road, and he went before me. I thought, how empty in your heart you must be to hold such anger at 4:30 in the morning.

Today’s scripture provided my response to this person. I prayed for them, literally pulling into a parking lot and praying that God would show them another way to live. Today, who knows what the response of another might be: retaliation, greater anger, or worse.

Proverbs 15:18 says, “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.” If I responded with anger, I too would be guilty of sin, and I could possibly escalate this situation to something far more dangerous.

When we act in anger, we reveal our true feelings, our true selves to everyone around us. If our heart is full of anger, the Lord is not there. Our heart is then an empty chamber of hate. We embarrass ourselves before others, and we are an offense to the Lord. In Proverbs 14:17, it is written, “A man of quick temper acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.”

I read an article about an actor named Rob Schneider who attended a protest. If you know of Schneider, he is a conservative. In the article, Schneider recounted how he encountered Robert De Niro, who questioned him about his position. It was obvious De Niro was angry. Schneider said to De Niro, “Bobby, I love you. I love you.” De Niro was totally disarmed and said, “Okay, okay.” Love disarms hate. In Proverbs 10:12, it is written, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.”

This morning left me with a pit in my stomach. How could the world be so angry before the day has yet to begin? How can people have such disregard for one another? The world is without God. Rejected by society, the morals and commands of God are absent. Turned over to reprobate minds (Romans 1:28), the anger of the enemy thrives in the world around us.

Do not be in the company of those who hold onto anger. Do not accept them or their behavior. Their anger may become your anger. As it is written in Proverbs 22:24-15, “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.” For many, anger feels good. It gives them power, a false power, the power of darkness that will be crushed by the light. The light of the Son of God.

Solomon is credited with these Proverbs. So be like Solomon, Moses, and Joel wrote, be like our God, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (Psalm 103:8, Exodus 34:6, Joel 2:13.) The love of God overcomes all things.

Grace and Peace.