Daily, we are tempted to react and get revenge for those that are rude, crude, and just plain mean. Like the boy in this “block of mercy” cartoon, we want to get even before we think of forgiveness.
Mercy can be hard, can’t it? It’s especially hard with siblings. The only time siblings feel like giving mercy is when they are the ones in need of it. Just ask my siblings. I got much more mercy than I deserve. Wait a minute… you can’t earn mercy, can you? Because if it is deserved, it isn’t mercy.
Let’s face it. We are all selfish and would like things to go our way all the time. That’s where this “do my bidding cartoon” came from.
Nobody like selfish people, do we? Of course, if we’re honest, we don’t like selfish people because we want to be the selfish person. All of us want to be king of the world and have everyone do their bidding.
There are seven billion potential dictators in the world, and I am just as selfish as the rest of them. There! I said it! confession is good for the soul, this morning.
When it comes to expressing our emotions, some of us are reserved while others go out of their way to ensure everyone knows how their feeling. I am in the subdued camp. But I enjoy observing a very expressive person. This led to my feeling animated cartoon.
If I had the time and animation skills, I could see this cartoon as an animated GIF. Maybe the girl’s arm would sway back and forth. Or she would lean into her nemesis. Alas, that is not in my wheelhouse today.
This morning, I am teaching kids about one of the times David spared King Saul’s life in 1 Samuel 24. At the moment, David had the perfect opportunity to do away with the king. And if he followed Saul’s example, David would have done just that.
King Saul was pursuing David. Saul’s anger caused him to abandon the work of governing and pursue his young rival. He wasted time and only became more obsessed with killing David. It reminds me of a quote by Mark Twain.
“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”
Mark Twain Quotes. BrainyQuote.com, BrainyMedia Inc, 2022. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/mark_twain_120156, accessed January 16, 2022.
Mark Twain
Saul did not meet his doom in this story. But he eventually did in a war. The story could have been so much different if he didn’t forget his duties and try to kill David. Saul may have been prepared for his final battle. Instead, he focused on a little threat while a much larger one was brewing.
On the other hand, David did the right thing. As a result, he became king without killing his rival. His people considered his reign legitimate because of the way he treated Saul. David showed that refraining from anger is a much better course.
Anger makes us bitter and stupid. We can’t think straight if we don’t manage it. It causes us to do and say things we will later regret. What’s more, it can make us lose focus on more important matters.
“Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
Psalm 37:8 (NIV)
do not fret—it leads only to evil.”
Let’s be careful about what makes us angry. It can lead to a lot of stupid, evil things.
It can be frustrating when things aren’t going your way. Someone isn’t meeting a deadline. That stupid supply chain is ruining your sales! Why can’t that kid do what I ask when I asked him? There are plenty of situations to get frustrated about.
Each time the frustration builds, we have an opportunity to make things better or worse. You can raise your voice and invoke fear to get things done, and it may work in the short-term. But what does that do in the long-term? Fear-based leadership is no leadership at all.
And what happens if it doesn’t make things happen, but the angry words just accelerate between you and the other party? Fear-based leadership become less effective when the other party is no longer afraid—even angrier than you. Then you end up with bigger problems.
There are plenty of reasons to get frustrated and lash out. But Proverbs 15:1 reminds me how we reply makes all the difference.
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
Proverbs 15:1 (KJV)
The last two years have been frustrating for everyone. There is no shortage of stories on people behaving badly because of frustrations. We don’t know what a person could be going through or what they’ve lost recently.
When tensions are high, we have an opportunity to make things better or worse by our reply. A soft answer could make all the difference in your day and mine!