Pr. 15:18: “A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention.”
Ok, if you haven’t read parts one & two of this series, please go back and start there. It will be worth it. I promise.
So, the person (or people) who came to your mind when you first read this verse…do you still feel the same way about them? I hope not. However, let’s continue talking about what the Word says about how we, as Christians, are supposed to behave.
Eph. 4:31-32 tells us, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Bitterness=resentment, Wrath=extreme anger, Clamor=loud, insistent protesting, Malice=the intention or desire to do evil
Those things need to be put away from us. Like away. Not set to the side for us to pull out when we feel hurt again, but put away as in gone. Imagine a box where we lock the scary things we don’t want to let out.
Instead, we bring out our kindness, our tenderheartedness (compassionate feelings), and our forgiveness. Now it goes on to say that we should forgive as Christ forgave us.
How did Christ forgive us? This way: Dying on cross; flesh ripped and torn. Naked and bruised, with blood dripping. Thirsty and alone; forsaken by His own Father. Spat upon and mocked. Yet, He cried out in the midst of all that…in that exact moment of His torment, “Father, forgive them.”
And we hold a grudge when someone steals our parking spot. We can’t get over the fact that someone raised their voice to us 3 months ago. Well, you don’t know what they’ve done to me! “Don’t you remember what he said to me?” You’ve never been through anything like that!
“Father, forgive them.”
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Col. 3:12
It’s a choice. Each day when we get up, we need to put these things on. If they slide off during the day, we need pull them back up! We are God’s chosen people…holy and dearly loved. We need to act like it! **I’m not talking to the other people around you. I’m talking to you! You can only control you! I can only control me!**
Join me tomorrow for part 4! Until then…
forgive them,
jamie
considering the word 