“A fool
expresses all his emotions, but a wise person controls them.” (Proverbs 29:11
GW)
You can’t
control much of what happens to you in life. Like I mentioned a few days ago in
these devotionals, you can’t control who your parents are, where you were born,
and a variety of other factors that have a significant influence on your life.
But you
can choose how you react to what life throws your way. You can get angry or
stressed out or shrink into depression when slights come at you — or you can
respond gracefully.
The
choice is always yours. The Bible says, “A fool expresses all his emotions,
but a wise person controls them” (Proverbs 29:11 GW). To live responsibly,
we must put our minds in gear before we put our mouths in gear. We must think
before we act.
When
others cause pain in our lives, we often respond by trying to get even.
Ironically, in our effort to “get even” with a person who has wronged us, we do
get even. We sink to the other person’s level.
God calls
us to a much greater response: forgiveness.
When
you’re mistreated, the proper reaction isn’t to blow up or clam up. Both are
irresponsible. Instead God calls us to respond to slights with calmness, love,
and truth.
Here’s
the bottom line: Trust God to settle the score. He has much better resources to
do that,than you do.
Action
Points
- What strategies can you use
when you’re hurt so you don’t react without thinking?
- Why is learning to control
your reactions an issue of faith?
- How can other people in your
life hold you accountable as you learn to more responsibly control your
reactions?
Credit:Daily Hope With Rick Warren
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