“Gentleness is the water that extinguishes the flames of wrath.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – September 21, 2024
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1, NIV
We live in a “charged” world. The stakes are always high, passions seem to be constantly inflamed, and we can snap at someone without a moment’s notice. We do this to complete strangers, such as when a driver cuts us off in traffic, but we also do this in our most intimate relationships, finding ourselves in heated conversations with a spouse, child, or close friend. Rarely does a week go by that you and I won’t have to deal with the temptation to be angry and snap at someone or be snapped at and have to choose how you will respond.
In some situations, the only option is to “meet fire with fire.” And while this may be true in the boxing ring or on the battlefield, it is not the way of peace in which our Lord invites us to walk. Our world is filled with wrath because it is filled with human beings who carry anger in their hearts. Yet just because this is true does not mean it is how it always must be. There is another way. Anger and wrath do not have to define you or those you love. In the kingdom of God, peace and kindness rule the day and are meant to be the default, normative ways in which his children relate to one another.
Gentleness is the water that extinguishes the flames of wrath. When we meet anger with more anger, the fire is enflamed, and chaos grows. Adding fire to fire “stirs up anger,” as today’s proverb reminds us. Anger becomes even more normative in our lives and relationships. Yet the opposite is also true. Whenever we encounter anger in ourselves or in others, if we can meet it with a gentle and tender response, anger is diffused and loses its strength. When we are in a fit of rage we lose perspective and all sense of ourselves. Yet gentleness returns us and others to ourselves, bringing us back to our senses.
There may still be and likely will be plenty of things to work through and discuss even after wrath is “turned away,” yet gentleness creates the conditions for mutual healing and understanding. Anger brings chaos. Gentleness leads to peace. Difficult as it surely is, by God’s grace, seek to have gentleness become a defining virtue of your life.
Prayer
Father, lead us in the way of gentleness and peace that we may be free from lives of anger and conflict, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Ask the Lord to give you a gentle spirit today, that you may turn away wrath whenever it may come your way.
Related Reading
Proverbs 12:18; Ephesians 4:29; Colossians 4:6
Worship Resource
Jon Guerra: The Lord Will Provide
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