Read Proverbs 19:11-13
The car won’t start or has a flat tire. The baby won’t stop crying or the kids can’t find their shoes before school. Your spouse needs you to make dinner, and there is not one more second to spare. Your boss asks you to turn in a project with an impossible deadline. Think about the number of times in a day we get angry about things that don’t really matter. A 94-year-old grandmother once said, “Let the little things stay little things.” Even as adults who love Jesus, we can be guilty of behaving like a foolish child or a quarrelsome wife (Proverbs 19:13). How would our actions change if we asked ourselves, “Does this matter in the light of eternity?” Proverbs 19:11 says we earn respect by overlooking wrongs. When we stop to pray and consider the source of our anger and frustration, it changes our attitude. Choosing to forgive demonstrates grace and humility. And if the people around us never notice, or the person who was wrong never says thank you for covering their mistake, God sees the little things we do and knows the motivation in our hearts. When we are calm where others would be angry, we cause people to wonder why. The simple act of behaving differently, unexpectedly, in a do-whatever-it-takes-world can give us an opportunity to share our faith. Let’s consider what riles us up and how many opportunities we let pass us by. Ask yourself and God how much of what angers you is eternal. God is a good Father. May we have a childlike faith instead of acting like a child before our King (Matthew 18:3). Reflect:- What’s one way you can calm yourself in the heat of the moment?
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