Proverbs 12:16
“Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult.”
How many times do we feel insulted a day?
I ask myself this because in today’s world, fueled by social media, we often get insulted a lot and very easily. There are some instances where being insulted is justified but when should we overlook an insult like the bible is instructing us to do in this verse? Well, I think that for the answer to that question we have to define what “prudent” means.
According to Merriam-Webster, Prudent is defined as: marked by wisdom or judiciousness.
A mark of wisdom. I recently have been asking the Lord to give me wisdom and intelligence. It is wise not be be easily insulted because if we are easily insulted, that means that we can become easily influenced. If one is easily insulted, then one will be quick to react. react and not think about what one will say or do. If we do not think before we act, then we could end up doing foolish things such as hurling insults back, attacking physically, or any other negative reaction before analyzing. An analysis of the situation is important to be able to determine what the most appropriate reaction to the ‘insult’ could be and why we are insulted. Sometimes, we are insulted because we were proven wrong and the most appropriate reaction to that is to accept that we are wrong and to learn. Not to hurl back insults or to attack the person in any way.
When we are insulted, as Christians, we must think before we act. We must be slow to speak and slow to anger (James 1:19). Let us not act in a manner which is foolish because we represent a wise God and I believe that if we serve a wise God, then we must be wise people. If you do not feel you are wise, do as is written in James 1:5 and ask that God give you wisdom.
Challenge:
Ask God for wisdom so that we can be a better representation of Jesus Christ to the world.
Omar's Thoughts 