Proverbs 18:13 AB
He who answers before he hears the facts— It is folly and shame to him.
Knee jerk responses are some of the worst kinds there can be. Belief, anger, rage, and judgement in the spur of the moment can cause a whole lot of trouble. We have all done it, reacted immediately to something and found out later we were wrong. We need to learn to practice the pause, to stop and breath and think and maybe even talk to God before we react (either by action, word or belief) to what we hear. Before we yell at the guy who cut us off, before we get offended by something said, before we stomp away because we heard half a conversation and made assumption, before all things we need to stop and think, and often pray and forgive. The mess that knee jerk reactions cause are usually far worse than the relative cause. Very few things require instant response and taking those few moments to center and control your response can make the situation better for all. At any moment in his ministry Jesus could have lashed out and destroyed all the people who persecuted him. He had the power to wipe them all out, the priest, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Romans. But he didn’t do it. Why because if he did that in a moment of rage at them, he would have never been crucified and we would not be saved. When it gets hard to pause and not react, think of that and lean on him for the strength to pause and pray and think for a moment. Remember “blessed are the peace makers or they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) isn’t that what we want to be?
Prayer:
Christ my Savior, help me to have your calm and patience in times of stress and trouble. Lead me to be a peacemaker for you. Amen.
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