Tiny Devotional for Sunday, 11/15/2020

A great GOOD MORNING to all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by: none of us knows tomorrow, but we have had some interesting yesterdays, haven’t we?

A hot-tempered person stirs up strife,
But the slow to anger calms a dispute.
Proverbs 15:18, NASB


My friend Hona was a hot-tempered man, but I didn’t know that when I met him. He and I had interests in common: Christianity, motorcycles. It drew us together; we wanted to form Believers on Bikes, with other motorcycle-riding Christians, and go on rides together.

Over the course of a couple of months, Hona taught me that a hot-tempered person wants:  
  • EXACTLY what he wants; 
  • RIGHT NOW; 
  • because it is the RIGHT thing!
  • And anyone who was not actively involved in supporting Hona was, at least, an obstacle; more probably the ENEMY!

No discussion was needed, because Hona already had The Right Answer. And, because Hona’s authority was God, then to offer an alternative meant that YOU didn’t believe in God, or you believed but were choosing to be disobedient.

The Believers on Bikes ended the evening Hona stomped out of the restaurant, because the other BoBs didn’t agree with a new rule Hona proposed.

Hona justified his hot temper because he was doing God’s will. Others justify hot tempers because they are doing the will of a political party, or a deeply held belief in a section of the Constitution, or for the planet, or for the children. The issues, regardless of validity, never resolve, as long as the hot tempers are in control; they can ONLY stir up strife.

Calm the dispute: go to the slow-to-anger. They see things the hot-tempered don’t.

Peace be on your household.

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