Temper....Temper...
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Christian Encouragement January 19, 2002
Hello to all of my Brothers and Sisters in the Lord! John 18:10,11 KJV---"Then Simon
Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right
ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Luke 22:51 KJV---"And Jesus answered and said,
Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him." Matthew 26:52,53 KJV---"Then
said Jesus unto him (Peter), Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take
the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father,
and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?" Some of us read this
and kind of chuckle at Peter's action. I've referred to Peter in other encouragements as,
"my dear ear-chopping brother". However, the Lord wasn't chuckling when He said, "Suffer
ye thus far", or in other words, "No more of this!" I can understand Peter's reason for
drawing his sword. He had been walking with Jesus for approximately 3 years. He knew that
Jesus was "the Christ", but he also considered Him a dear and valuable friend. Peter, in
his flesh and as His friend, wanted to defend and protect the Lord. It was his first
reaction to the situation. Silly and unwise, yes, but totally understandable. Jesus
understood his motives as well when He said, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and
He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (NIV) Jesus knew
full well WHY Peter drew his sword and chopped off Malchus' ear. You'll also notice that
Jesus then healed the man. I must confess that, at times, I am just like Bro. Peter. No,
I haven't literally chopped anyone's ear off, but at times, I might as well have. Most of
the time, my fleshly "fuse" is quite long, however, sometimes it's far too short! Either
way, at the end of my fuse is a keg of dynamite. Not good~~ My husband, Russ, tells me I
have a gift for words. I am either using this gift to comfort, uplift, exhort, and
encourage, OR I can turn this same gift into a curse and chop someone to pieces with it.
He's right....and this isn't good either! As I think back, I wonder how many times the
Lord has had to heal another person because of my cutting words. It grieves my heart to
think about it. We all have areas of our lives that take constant watching. There are
areas in this flesh where we could use a good healthy dose of self-control. I choose, in
my spirit, NOT to be this way, which means I agree with the Lord. Now, all I have to do
is, with His divine help, work on taming the flesh. This means the tongue first, then the
temper. Don't get me wrong, I don't walk around all day ranting and raving like a crazy
person....just on occasion, especially when I'm driving or when the house is a mess and
company is on the way! One thing that is very difficult for me to handle is when someone
says something ugly and rotten about my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I get angry and my
very first reaction is to lash out and defend God. Now think about this. WHERE does it
say, anywhere in the Bible, that the God of the universe needs defending? Is it there and
have I missed it? I don't think so. Sometimes, just like Peter, I'd like to chop their ear
off, but I don't. I asked the Lord to help in these situations. Here is what He brought to
my remembrance: James 1:20 KJV--"For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of
God." Indeed, words to hold on to! If, in my anger and "righteous indignation", I lash
out with my mouth, then what example am I of the love and salvation of the Lord? What does
it say about Christ Himself? Through my acceptance of the blood of Christ, I now have
inside of myself the VERY THING that a lost person desperately needs! So, if I allow
cutting words to come out of my mouth, in defense of the Christ Who needs no defense, then
that person isn't going to have any desire to hear the plan of salvation. It would be an
extremely sad and lost opportunity, not to mention, the Lord would have to intervene and
do some healing in order for that person to possibly be willing to listen to someone else
down the road. During our family Bible study the other night, Russ brought a terrific
and eye-opening lesson. It was in Matthew 21:23-27 and 22:15-22. Jesus knew the intent of
the hearts of these people. They didn't really want to know the answers to the questions
they were asking of Him and so He refused to give them an answer. Take the time to read
these passages. I found them quite insightful. When someone comes to you and scoffs at
the name of the Lord or bad-mouths Him, you have several choices: 1) blow your stack (bad
move), 2): walk away without a word, or 3): Simply and calmly say, "Please do not speak
badly of my Lord. You do not know Him. If you did, you would not say such terrible things
about Him. If you would like to sit down with me and hear about His wonderful love for
you, I'll be happy to share it with you. If not, then I will have to walk away." That's
it. No more words are needed than that, and in some cases, you might not even have an
opportunity to say anything. My friends, once we can understand the fact that people only
speak badly of the Savior because they don't know Him, we will then find that the anger
that wells-up inside some of us will dissipate. Let's watch our tempers, remembering that
God does not need or require us to defend and protect Him. Let us seriously learn to tame
our tongues and use the Godly wisdom that is available to all of us as the Lord's
children. Remember, sometimes the solution is simply no words at all. STAY ENCOURAGED!
With love in Christ,
Debbie Reed-Parman
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