DAILY DEVOTIONAL: DON’T BITE

“A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression” – Proverbs 19:11
 
We learn, the hard way or the easy way, that every time somebody says something or does something ignorant, a response is not necessary.
 
We’ve all been in a situation, sometimes in our own house, when we wanted to clap back, strike back or tell somebody off — after all, they gave us the scissors to cut them when they opened their mouth…(Proverbs 18:6).
 
The truth is, when we bite or get sucked into tongue fights every time somebody says something ignorant, rude or foolish, we have to leave our peace to, “get them back.” To cut them, we have to literally suspend all thoughts about any and everything else we could be thinking about to go run them down and give them a piece of our mind (Philippians 4:8).
 
Put This In Your Spirit: The bible says, “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:9). When folks come for you, they either don’t know you or they know you well enough to know that their behavior is going to provoke you. Either way, the goal is the same — to get you to bite, clap back or to act up. What you do next is either going to cause them to win or cause them to recognize that they don’t have that much power over you.
 
Anybody that says putting somebody in their place who gets out of line is not tempting, is a liar. It’s tempting because we, in that moment, believe we’re defending our honor, our intelligence or our rights. Sometimes we are, and sometimes a response is necessary but the key is, only the right response is going to make a difference.
 
See, it’s one thing to cuss somebody out or go off, it’s another thing to make a difference. The bible put it this way, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). It’s not what we say, it’s how we say it that not only determines if it makes a difference but also if we have to leave our post to make it.
 
When they, them or that causes us to act ignorant, act up, act a fool, go off, erupt or just plain slice and dice like the best of them, ultimately all we really did was show somebody that our power can be cheaply rented by foolery.  When we burn down our emotional house to get back at somebody, we might have, “got them,” but we have to go back to emotional ashes.
 
When the bible says, “Anger but sin not,” it’s talking about saying it without leaving our post. Our post is our power, our character, our intelligence, our peace. If and when we have to respond, we decide if that response is going to be powerful or pitiful (Proverbs 14:17, 14:29).
 
Personal power, purposeful responses, intentional words are more effective than a simple tongue beating. It’s one thing to throw wood on the fire, it’s another thing to put the fire out, shut them down or leave them with nothing to respond to. A foolish conversation needs your words to keep it going — they need you to give up your power and step into their world of crazy.
 
It does not matter whether the person is a stranger, a relative or a spouse, ignorant conversations don’t solve anything. They have one purpose: make the other person bleed. If you keep it up, especially with a spouse or a relative, the relationship will become a constant boxing ring and eventually, love will leave the building. You cannot keep cutting people you love and expect them to be the same or to stay (Proverbs 27:5-6).
 
Head check. If the conversation pushes your button, it’s the spirit of strife operating through them, or it, to pull you away from your post. You always have a decision to make — play with the devil or shut the devil down with power. Walk away or use words that prevent you from walking away from your character. This takes practice, thought, and more practice, especially if you enjoy cutting people or are easily provoked to anger. 
 
I’m not saying that there won’t be times when we have to turn over some tables like Christ did, I’m saying that when we know how beautiful we are when we walk in power, talk with power, foolery will loose it’s ability to be a remote control for our character.  Power is bad, it cannot be mistaken for foolery, it’s always intentional, it shows out without acting up, and it is never purchased cheap.
 
Make it powerful, not messy.
 
 
 
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One Response to “DAILY DEVOTIONAL: DON’T BITE”

  1. Rachel Martin says:

    I definitely needed the reminder of this message. I’ve been slipping in this area where is pertains to one individual in particular. I pray that God strengthen me and heal my heart of foolishness. I pray that God set a guard over my mouth. I also pray for reconciliation and restoration with with person. Thank you for your wisdom and the simplicity and practicality in this messbw

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