“A man’s discretion makes him
slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression,” (Proverbs
19:11).
“A man of great anger will
bear the penalty, for if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again,”
(Proverbs 19:19).
In verse 11 some translations
have, “Good sense makes a man slow to anger…” It just doesn’t make sense to be
angry all of the time, and it doesn’t make sense to become angry at common
everyday offenses. The writer of this proverb isn’t saying that a man of
discretion (or good sense) never gets
angry, he is saying that a person of good sense is slow to anger. People
without filters are often quick to anger. People who insist on their own way
are quick to anger. People who are not thoughtful and reflective about life are
often quick to anger.
A person of discretion, a
person exercising good sense, is a person considering the situation he or she
is in; this person is weighing the importance of the issues at hand,
considering how they first affect others, and lastly how they affect himself.
If this person is a follower of Jesus Christ, hopefully he is submitting his
heart and mind to Christ and the peace of Christ and not seeking to usurp
control of his own life – for his life is no longer his own but belongs to
Christ first and through Christ to others.
It could very well be that the
situation that temps us to anger is a situation in which we can be irenic
witnesses of Jesus Christ and serve those who are the cause of our offense or
frustration. If we insist on venting our anger we often lose the opportunity to
think clearly about the circumstances and also the opportunity to arrive at a
peaceful resolution.
What is the penalty of great
anger of verse 19? While the immediate penalty may be escalated conflict with
its repercussions, driving others away, isolation, creating an atmosphere of
fear and distrust, and disoriented and confused thinking – the writer of this
proverb is also looking at the “man of great anger” as someone who has developed
‘great anger” as a way of life; so much so that “if you rescue him, you will
only have to do it again”. The penalty becomes the life of great anger, and
great anger’s penalty becomes a warped life, a twisted life, a smoldering
volcano never dormant, always active, erupting with fire, smoke, poisonous gas,
and lava; always invoking caution in those living in its shadow. People do not
build homes at the mouth of volcanoes.
The secure person can overlook
a transgression; in fact, to live in peace the secure person must overlook
transgressions – for all of us transgress, all of us do things we ought not to
do both intentionally and unintentionally – it is the nature of our present
life – even those of us whose natures and characters are being transformed into
the image of Christ. Letting transgressions go, overlooking them, is learning
the way of Jesus Christ and the way of peace with others. If our justification
comes from Jesus Christ, then our justification is not derived from making note
of the transgressions of others so that we can justify ourselves (making ourselves
look good) – our justification in Christ is all the more reason to overlook the
behavior of others toward ourselves for we have the freedom in Christ to use
discretion and good sense and to forgive.
“Blessed are the peacemakers
for they shall be called sons of God.”
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