Reading your Bible for Today August 17

August 17: Proverbs 15:1-2

KJV Key Verse: Proverbs 15:1
1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Devotion:
Can you count the number of things you have said this week which have come out the wrong way? Can you count the number of things you have said which you wish you had not said? Can you count the number of times you got angry and started blurting out things which were just wrong? Our emotions are one side of our lives we do find hard to control, and the first thing that happens when we get upset is our mouths start babbling on before we even know about it!

One of my favourite sayings was “engage brain before releasing mouth”, but that was just a fact... God's Word gives us the reason for this fact – why, because if you don't engage your brain you are going to say all sorts of things you will wish you had not! It may seem obvious that we should use a bit of wisdom to control our mouths, but we need to be reminded again and again it is our emotions which are driving our mouths before our brains can get into gear... unless we are able to stop and think a second...

A sure fire way to get someone angry is to start telling them they are a fool or stupid... Doing that is normally going to be counterproductive because it may well provoke a reaction out of them that will come from their emotions before they have a chance to think about it! And the cycle has begun – faster emotional responses each time and a fight ensues... Each time around the cycle you are baiting the other person, as they are baiting you, and each time you think less about their feelings!

But what if we were able to stop for half a second for our brains to be able to catch up – it's not going to take all day for them to catch up... We would be able to think about what we have just heard and about what we are about to say. God has given us immensely powerful brains so we will be able to control our mouths – as long as we are willing to wait that extra second to allow them to catch up with the conversation!

Points to Ponder:
What was your last fight about?

Are you depending on God for guidance through your angry times?