Overlooking Offense

“A person’s wisdom yields patience; 
it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.” Proverbs 19:11

You can know glory today, for someone will certainly offend you!

Many of us, when offended by others, choose to be hurt, plot our revenge, lash out in hostility and then bite back. This  demonstrates a deficit of wisdom by yielding no patience, for only feelings rule our hearts in moments like these, not glory.

Wisdom chooses to resist the tempting urge to react revengefully when someone offends us. This is the mark of human maturity—  only immature children quickly bite back, right? Thank God things are so much different now that we’ve grown up.

When we become offended, anger can quickly escalate us to a “temporary insanity,” which can easily cause us to misjudge an offense and retaliate out of proportion. Patience is the wise choice to regain our sanity before reacting to an offense.

We must choose a spirit that finds glory in forgiving those who hurt us, by choosing the way of overlooking personal minor offenses.

We will all most likely have opportunities to be offended today by someone. We’ll also have numerous opportunities to practice wisdom, patience, love, grace and glory.

What will we do?

Will we yield patience, overlook an offense, and glory in an opportunity to show the grace of Christ in our lives? Or will we bite back out of hurt feelings and pride, to only discover that we are proud fools in need of greater wisdom?

http://31days.crosspoint.tv/

Drinking Water From Your Own Well

Today I posted on the 31 Day Challenge about the warning of adultery. If every man and woman took seriously the warning of today’s chapter (Proverbs 5), the image and experience of marriage [and perhaps all other relationships that flow out of it]     would certainly look and be vastly different than they are today to all of our benefit.

In fact, not “paying attention” to the wisdom and “words of insight” written in this chapter arguably may have contributed to some of the most damaging consequences we face in our homes, families, and culture today.

Solomon has taken this entire chapter to emphasize that marriage and sexuality are so sacred and pure, that two people coming together and giving ALL of themselves to each other, is not to be messed or interfered with, so that it might last forever. In essence, adultery can never truly satisfy, because it can’t…

It’s living outside of how God created us to live!

One verse that stood out to me was verse 15:

“Drink water from your own cistern,
running water from your own well.”

Poetic for sure, but also amazingly clear, isn’t it?