Tiny Devotional for Wednesday, 09-13-2023

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, fried chicken livers for lunch!

Through insolence comes nothing but strife,
But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.
Proverbs 13:10, NASB

A small-group meeting at church. 
JUST before the group formally started, Bartholomew (aka Lo-Mew) approached me and said, “Pat, I need to ask your forgiveness. I’ve been feeling superior to you, and I got convicted of that.”
“Hey, brother, no problem! Love conquers all!” was my reply.

Do you think that little 30 second interaction was the END of it? That’s so cute!

I just had time to give him a quick hug, then had to take my seat.

Where I seethed.

The voices in my head drowned everything else out:

“who in the heck does that skinny, pencil-necked geek think he is?”

“what does HE have to feel superior about?”

...repeat forever...

There was PLENTY of insolence in that room, enough to go around. I’ll not speak to Lo-Mew’s insolence, and I was unaware (at the time) of my own. Fortunately, I sought counsel; and HE said:

“If we get mad at something people say about us, it’s because we think they’re right.”

Ouch. Shock. Startle.

Followed by:

Insight.

Yup. I realized his statement was true; all the comparisons I had been making in my head about my magnificence and Lo-Mew’s weaknesses were never going to solve anything. 

It wasn’t Lo-Mew’s opinion of me that mattered; it was my opinion of myself. 

And: that was (mostly) the end of it. 
I DID have to  explore why I was afraid of not being good enough, but: 
I no longer needed to beat Lo-Mew up.

And that’s how wisdom was with me. 

Peace be on your household.

Comments

  1. On Christ the Solid Rock I StandSeptember 14, 2023 at 6:37 PM

    Thanks for sharing for it my Brother Pat, we always learn something in life. Thanks for biblical guidance.

    ReplyDelete

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