"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools spouts folly" (Prov 15:1-2).
Reading these verses I am reminded how frequently I've played the fool as a father. Rather than turning down the heat, I've thrown more wood on the fire. In the midst of rising temperatures, the angry father pontificates to an angry child on biblical wisdom! It is quite foolish!
Yesterday I was reminded of the importance of de-escalation in the heat of the moment, and the long-term strategy of making knowledge acceptable, i.e., not when I'm bursting at the seams to preach to my child, but when my child is ready and able to hear a different perspective.
Heavenly Father, thank you for putting up with me, a disciple of Yeshua who is all too frequently an incredibly stubborn and proud child. Please give me the supernatural grace to respond rather than to react, and to win the war, rather than spew unbridled emotion and unfiltered words in a single battle!
"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Eph 6:4).
Devotional by ONE FOR ISRAEL MINISTRY
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