24.303 | BE SLOW TO ANGER | Proverbs 15:18-19 | God’s Word for Today with Pastor Nazario Sinon

God’s Word For Today

God’s Word for Today

18 Dec, 2024

18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,

but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.

19 The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns,

but the path of the upright is a level highway.

- Prov 15:18-19 ESV

BE SLOW TO ANGER

A strong person is self-controlled. He is able to contain the pressure of exploding or from outbursts. Whereas, a hot-tempered man gets quarrels easily. The lashing out of hurting words and actions sparks friction in a volatile environment. A hot-tempered person creates conflict. And, we don’t want to associate with a hot-tempered person for fear of getting "burned”, do we? When anger gets the best of us, it reveals the worst of us. Do remember that ‘anger’ is just one letter short of ‘danger.’

In contrast, he who is ‘slow to anger’ will diffuse a great deal of strife. His soft answer will turn away wrath.[Prov 15:1] Not all anger is sinful. Jesus was angry and overturned the tables at the temple. Yet, he did not sin. Jesus denounced unrighteous anger by saying, "Everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment" (Mat 5:22). In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul writes: "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice" (Eph 4:31). The person who controls his anger keeps disagreements from reaching a boiling point. He is a peacemaker to whom Jesus promised blessing (Mat 5:9).

Solomon relates the slowness of a sluggard contrasted to the quickness of the hot-tempered person. Solomon uses an image of a neglected path by the "sluggard," or lazy person. It is grown with thorns that make it look ugly and impede progress. One couldn’t make progress while walking directly through a bristly hedge, could he? Like thorns on a path, laziness in a person's life reduces beauty and keeps him from accomplishing what is important. His life is full of obstructions, and it is going nowhere (Prov 10:4, 26; 12:27). In contrast, the path of the ‘upright’ is unobstructed and straight. This is neither a guarantee that life will be easy nor his hard work will always result in great success for the godly. The lesson is in the contrast that is, if the goal is to progress in life, laziness is like walking through thorn bushes while godliness and effort are like taking a smooth and flat highway (Psa 16:11; 25:10; Prov 4:18; 15:21).

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