Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath: but harsh words stir up anger.
People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.
How often, in all the issues we have to deal with talking with people, we know or we feel we are right; our idea, our position, our interpretation is it, and we’re ready to fight for it. Forget the fact that we may not be, or that there might be something we’re completely ignorant of. The truth is that sometimes we know better, and sometimes we don’t.
But the scripture teaches us, and I’ve learned from experience (most of the time), that arguing, forcefulness, and violence in my own voice are almost guaranteed to start a futile and ugly war of words. People are naturally defensive, and often, naturally offensive. But I can be the one to break the pattern…with a gentle answer.
If my heart attitude is “Come, let us reason together, hear each other out, respect each other, speak softly, and trust the Lord for the outcome”, and my tone of voice carries that spirit, I can actually help the other person to calm down and prevent a war. The fruit of the spirit is….. self-control. What a blessing! Do you want to start a fight…..or finish one? Give a gentle answer today and see what the Lord does!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]A friend writes: "My father did some pretty nasty things to me. But at the end of his life, as I kneeled by his bedside, I told him how thankful I was for every good thing he had done and every way he had blessed me, and there were many. We were good friends when he passed away." One of the greatest regrets you can avoid at the end of your life is the failure to praise others when they deserved it, (and even when they didn't).
Of course, the celebration of Passover for believers normally emphasizes the revelation of our Passover Lamb -- the Lamb of God, Yeshua, who was delivered up, a Lamb without blemish, and sacrificed in our place as an offering for our sins. As Israel celebrates deliverance from slavery, we celebrate deliverance from the bondage of sin. We celebrate knowing that death no longer has power over us since we pass from this temporal world into the eternal when we die.
In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. “Your Majesty,” said Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king.” “I understand,” said Henry. “The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.” “Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.” When King Henry died, a statement was written: “The King learned to rule by being obedient.”
Pesach (Passover) celebrates Israel’s final departure from Egypt – that’s why we read about it in “Exodus!” Leaving their former lives of slavery, the Jewish people now pressed forward looking toward the “Promised Land” and a new way of life. Their purpose was not only departure – it was also arrival to a new destination. Now there was a significant 40 year delay in the wilderness….
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Leonardo da Vinci, who excelled at many things -- as a painter, sculptor, poet, architect, engineer, city planner, scientist, inventor, anatomist, military genius, and philosopher said a wise thing...
Yet as believers, we often consider ambition to be a bad and worldly thing. But Yeshua (Jesus) said, “He who would be greatest among you must be the servant of all.” So think about it … did Yeshua say we shouldn’t desire greatness? No, to the contrary, He recognized desire and ambition for significance and accomplishment. He even affirmed them, and gave instruction how to direct these passions. But His perspective required an important reorientation.