Stay Calm - The One Year Daily Wisdom
Stay Calm
Read Proverbs 12
A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.
Proverbs 12:16
In many cultures, defending one’s honor is not merely acceptable, it is mandatory. “What are you, a wimp?” our friends chide. “Are you going to let him talk to you that way?” Soon harsh words or even fists are flying. But the Bible prescribes a better way.
A wise person realizes that an insult says more about the insulter than the insulted. He or she takes a deep breath and takes the long view. Staying calm, in this case, becomes not a passive, wimpy reaction but an active response drawn from inner strength and assurance that what the other person thinks or says is not the final word. We take our cue from God himself; the prophets spoke often of his being “slow to anger.” The apostle James, whose letter counsels us to be patient and calm in various situations, picks up the theme of today’s verse from Proverbs when he writes, “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).
A WORD FOR TODAY
An insult has only as much power as we give to it.
Lord, help me to be “slow to get angry” and to stay calm in the face of insults, real or perceived.
