S102P5 – Simmer down now: power misunderstood
Pro. 16:32
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
He ruled with an iron fist wherever he went. It began in childhood when he discovered that anger got him what he wanted more times than kindness. As he grew, he began to hone this method of power. At home and at school he was often pacified by others who simply wanted to give him what was necessary to calm him down. Professionally, this tactic served to help him climb the ladder of success much faster than his peers in his industry. He was a corporate killer who took no guff from anyone, and that seemed admirable for a time. Eventually, even those who admired his temperament began to tire of it. What once had been his tool for success would alienate others from him and ruin his reputation.
Looking to the world for our guidance in life always will lead us to counterfeits. One of the great counterfeits in this world is anger. There is a deception which tries to convince us that anger gives us some kind of power. It shows that we are formidable and serious, a force to be reckoned with. In actuality, anger does not give us power, and the wise will not see us as strong when we are angry. Anger comes from a lack of self-control and often is used to mask weakness or insecurity. Spiritually, the strong will be able to control themselves and hold anger in submission as opposed to being in submission to it. That is where real power is. When we allow anger to control and direct us, we are simply walking in weakness.
Simply put, anger is too easy. We submit to it once we have decided that we simply do not want to fight. Slowing the roll of anger and taking control over our thoughts and feelings is much more difficult, especially if we have not put this into practice and made it a habit. It takes strength and dedication to stop the momentum and seek God for his righteous response to whatever stimulus is trying to get a rise out of us. The comforting thing is that God gives us the power needed to do this successfully over and over, but we must yield to that process. Let us be wise enough to do so today. Father, thank You for equipping us with humility and meekness, and help us to implement them with diligence when anger tries to rise up in us.