“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires” James 1:19-20, NLT.
My wife has told me not to allow certain foods, like grits or oatmeal, to sit in the pot after they’ve been made. If you let them sit there, it hardens in the pot. The pot then becomes harder to clean than if I would have cleaned it right after it had been used.
As a man, you can get angry, and yes, you can get offended too. Yet, it is wiser to quickly handle your hurt. It’s much better to quickly handle what you’re upset about right when it happens than to let time go by, and it begins to fester and harden your heart toward them. If you hold on to it, in time it will be God. Therefore the Lord says don’t even allow the sun to go down on your wrath (Eph. 4:26). You will give place to the enemy the longer you allow the offense to sit there and the devil is the one we don’t want to give any place to. With that one seed, he will use it to produce strife, pain, arguments, unforgiveness, and a root of bitterness in your marriage and in your life.
Don’t live secretly angry or offended from something you’re now bitter from. Jesus set you free. Love God’s law and imitate Him, as He quickly loves us–a holy God lets it go again and again, and gets things right with us. With Christ’s help, handle it today.
Prayer: Father, help me not to let anger or offense live in me. I desire for any seeds of offense to be plucked up and dealt within me. Help me to not give the devil any place to come in and ruin my marriage and the relationships I have. You made me free. I will love Your law of forgiveness and imitate You. Teach me how to set things back right again quickly, just like You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Study: Psalm 119:165, Proverbs 18:19, Ephesians 4:32
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