Proverbs 16-18, 2 Corinthians 6 Key Verse: Proverbs 16:32
In our fast-paced world, with lives stuck on fast forward, rage comes quicker than ever. Someone
gets cut off in traffic and rage kicks in— we lay on the horn or scream out the window, if not
something even more drastic. Road rage is one example; airline rage is another. I once witnessed
frustrated and fearful gate agents call for the police when a passenger at the airport, frustrated by
a delay, began to yell.
“Better a patient man than a warrior, . . .”
A friend caught in one of those nightmare travel scenarios, flights delayed and canceled due to
weather, described what happened when he was patient with the ticket agent. After she worked
out the remainder of his trip, she thanked him for his demeanor. “You made my day,” she said.
“ . . . a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city. ”
The person of rage may get his way at the counter or feel better having vented his anger at other
drivers. He may feel good about being a road warrior, but he is not. God’s Word says that the
patient person, the one who can control his temper, is better.
The impatient person may think he is in control by forcing his will on others, but he is not. He is
out of control, unable to control himself. We are to be under the control of the Spirit and be
people of patience.
Rage may be the rage today, but patience is honored by God forever.
Perhaps something will test your patience today. Do you think you will pass or fail? You
probably already know the answer! Ask God right now to help you begin to be a patient person.
Woodrow Kroll & Tony Beckett
www.backtothebible.in