Be Slow to What Comes Fast (Proverbs 19:11)
6:45 AM
Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. —Proverbs 19:11
This verse is beautiful to me because it goes beyond mere good sense. Being slow to anger reflects the very character of God who is Himself “slow to anger” (Psalm 103:8). This “good sense” attitude of being slow to anger and overlooking offenses is completely counter-cultural.
In our societytime and time rushing to anger is commonplace, even acceptable. Minor irritations bring about an immediate angry response. When Christians rush to anger, we are not being salt and light, we are simply reflecting the culture. If, however, we live lives marked by patiently overlooking offenses, we will look drastically different from the world as the light of the gospel shines through us.
What causes you to be angry? Is it when someone cuts you off in traffic? Is it when you’ve been wronged or your rights are being infringed upon? What about the actions of your family, friends, or co-workers? Often the people closest to us can easily anger and offend us. What about when someone dismisses your faith, or makes a trite comment about it? Do you rush to anger?
This verse isn’t saying never be angry or all anger is sinful, but be slow to anger. God is calling us to surrender our impulse to rush to anger. That He commands this reveals that He has given us the power to approach anger slowly and carefully, prayerfully considering whether we even need to be angry.
When we rush to anger, foolishness follows, often in the form of sinful words and actions. Unfortunately, it’s easy to rush to anger and much more difficult to be slow to it. God promises to teach us this discipline and conform us to Christ, if we will submit to Him in the hard work.
I have three small children, so I spend a lot of time with other parents talking about our kids. We talk about the values we hope to instill. And one value comes up repeatedly: teaching our children to stand up for themselves—to fight for their rights. I often hear Christian parents telling me that it is important for kids to stand up for themselves. I agree with them on some levels.
But do we have the same concern that our children would be slow to anger? Do we want to train them to overlook an offense? Do we ask them to seek peace with patience and lovingkindness, even when it’s hard? Do we teach them that following Jesus often means the harder, more loving, more Christ-like path of being slow to anger?
Training our kids to be slow to anger means cultivating that attitude in our own lives. I suspect we focus on teaching our kids to fight for their rights because it comes easily for us as adults. We don’t need to work at it. They see it in us when we’re driving, when we’re talking about our day at work. They even see it when we are correcting and disciplining them.
It takes work to teach and demonstrate the importance of being slow to anger. We need to show our children what being slow to anger looks like–and that includes letting go of offenses.
This attitude of being slow to anger—of overlooking offenses—is not just wisdom for daily living, it’s part of living out the gospel daily. We can experience the glory of overlooking an offense because we serve a righteous Judge, and because we have a glorious Savior who did not treat us as our sins deserve. We can surrender our pride and seek God, who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Psalm 103:8). As you commit Proverbs 19:11 to memory, prayerfully seek His strength, and the work of His Spirit, to empower you to reflect His character for His glory.
For Reflection
What does being slow to anger look like compared to rushing to anger?
What offenses would you have to overlook to be slow to anger?
How might a patient response in offensive circumstances reflect the glory of the gospel to your friends, family, and coworkers?
