Respond gently when you are confronted and you’ll defuse the rage of another. Responding with sharp, cutting words will only make it worse. Don’t you know that being angry can ruin the testimony of even the wisest of men? Proverbs 15:1 TPT
Let me quote here the shortened version of the piece above: A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
Proverbs 15:1 KJV. It is very clear that human relationships are one of the most complex things on earth. In fact, what today's extracts say is that there are several ways an issue can be resolved by human beings. If God could make about 7 billion people on earth with distinct fingerprints, with none ever the exact print of any other, then it means that there are over 7 billion ways of looking at or resolving an issue.
The fact that I do not see it from your point of view does not always mean that you are wrong or right. It simply means that by communicating better, we can agree on how best to move forward, in the interest of all parties. After all, why would God put me in the midst of human beings who are so different from me, if not that He wants me to be his eyes, ears, hands and life, so that as I relate with people, God becomes evident in me.
It is clear also that human interaction will always lead to friction. Husbands and wives quarrel; siblings squabble; how much more people who do not share blood or race relations. Anger could be a natural outflow of this friction, but what you do with that emotion will reveal who sits on the throne of your heart and the one who dictates terms. The popular adage says: 'Every action has an equal and opposite reaction'. But this is the kicker: even in the spiritual, this statement is true, but maybe not in the way the world expects.
The world demands that I meet force with similar force; God would have me do something similar, but from a different perspective: meet the force of hatred with the force of affection; meet the force of malice with the force of love. It cannot be inaction or indifference; that is against everything God calls His own to. Can light ever be ineffective or without impact? Where darkness reigns, so you know the value of just a liitle light?
Have you considered the effect of just a little salt in food? God calls us both salt and light, because He knows what the world he has placed us in looks like. If I flow in the same direction the world flows in, how do I promote the God who wants me to do things differently? If my pursuits, priorities and principles are the same as the world's, how does the world ever get to see what it is missing?Each perspective gives what it has. The world cannot produce something outside what it has, and those who live by God's standard cannot also produce anything outside the One who lives and rules in them.
And a warning at the end of today's extended extract: Don’t you know that being angry can ruin the testimony of even the wisest of men? For all men who will be all that God desires, anger must be an emotion under total control. It cannot and must not be allowed to rule me. God's Word couldn't have said it better than this: My dearest brothers and sisters, take this to heart: Be quick to listen, but slow to speak. And be slow to become angry, for human anger is never a legitimate tool to promote God’s righteous purpose. James 1:19-20 TPT. When you are tempted to lash out, ask yourself: would God be promoted or demoted in the eyes of the people watching/listening to me? After all, my physical lifestyle must be the proper reflection of my spiritual allegiance. I can pretend for a while, but the truth will always speak quite loudly as I live out my life on a daily basis. His time of favour is here.
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