Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Anger”
Our Bible verse for today: “A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.” Proverbs 19:11 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Be willing to overlook offenses”
The ability to overlook and shrug off an offense is a measure of spiritual maturity. The more thin-skinned a person is, and the easier they allow themselves to be offended, the less spiritually mature that person is. As Paul writes in Galatians 5:22-23, “The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
“Patience”, “gentleness”, “self-control”, those are the marks of a spiritually mature man or woman who has a healthy relationship with God. Usually when a person is quick to take offense it’s because down deep that person is insecure and immature in their faith. The thought of being criticized or in any way demeaned is more than they can take and so they get angry. Conversely, the healthier the person’s self-image, the less vulnerable that person is to perceived slights and criticism. The one who truly understands their value in God’s eyes, is not easily offended by people.
However, it’s still true that when dealing with an emotionally heated situation it’s important not to personalize it. A conflict with another person is almost always a disagreement about ideas, opinions, or desired outcomes. Keep it on that level. Don’t allow anger to personalize the conflict by using unkind remarks and unfair observations which in any way demean the other person.
And if you find yourself on the receiving end of such remarks, refuse to take the bait! Remember that your value as a person comes from God’s opinion of you, not the other person’s. And the fact that the other person is allowing their anger to lead them into personalizing the conflict with unkind remarks is simply a glaring indicator of a spiritual problem on their part. Don’t descend to their level by being spiritually immature yourself.
Just because the other person chose to personalize the issue, doesn’t mean that you have to too.
The lesson Proverbs 19:11 teaches is that it’s admirable when a person has patience and is willing to shrug off an offense (both real and perceived offenses). It’s also a sign that that person has learned how to handle anger in a healthy and constructive way.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 