Dear Rose Park,
In the month of January, I’ve been more intentional to spend time in a portion of the Bible known as Wisdom Literature. This section includes the book of Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, the Psalms, and Proverbs. As a pastor, husband, father, son, and friend it seems to be a good place to spend some extra time.
As I was reading, I noticed several common threads that were woven in throughout wisdom literature. One of those is a slowness towards anger. Psalm 103 reads, The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. This description of God is found in numerous places throughout scripture, but it seems of particular importance in light of wisdom literature. In other words, it would be wise of us to practice compassion and grace, a slowness towards anger, and an abundance of steadfast love.
This encouragement then gains teeth when we consider the practical wisdom of Proverbs 12:16. It reads, A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted. God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. If we, as Christians, are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus growing in our righteousness then perhaps one way we can do that is by staying calm when faced with the temptation to burst out in anger.
I know I am a culprit of quick-temperedness. As a quick aside, I’m intentionally using the word culprit rather than the phrase “I’ve fallen victim to quick-temperedness.” It’s not as if anger snuck up and attacked me when I was least expecting it. I’m a culprit because I’m choosing knee-jerk anger over wisdom and steadfast love.
The Lord is slow to anger with me in all my foolishness. It’s my hope and prayer by the power of the Holy Spirit to be slower towards anger with others. I hope to grow in my patience. I hope to let the little things roll off my back or go in one ear and out the other. I hope to grow in my capacity to receive and share steadfast love. I hope to embody graciousness over selfishness and pettiness.
This, I believe, is one way to grow in wisdom. To echo the words of Jesus at His baptism, “let it be so now.”
Grace & Peace,
