Proverbs 22:24-25 Wise Words #2
Today’s wise words deal with angry people and how their behavior can affect you if you befriend them. Pick your friends wisely for they have an effect on you.
Everyone needs friends. We are created to need companionship. If it weren’t so, God wouldn’t have been concerned about Adam being alone in the Garden of Eden. We need others to encourage us, motivate us, challenge us, support us, and even give us obstacles to overcome. But some of your friends may become the obstacles themselves. Those are the friends you need to ‘cut from your list’.
God has given wisdom to our author that he has passed onto us in these wise words. He tells us NOT to associate (become friends) with hot headed people or those bent on vengeance. Why? Because they impact how you see the world too.
There are some graphics that ‘hide’ the message they are creating. There is a ‘trick’ to seeing that message, but once you see it you will NEVER be able to look at the graphic as you did the first time. You will see the hidden message right aw ay from that moment on. When I was a teen, this was proven to me. I was handed an index card and asked what it said. I looked at the black ‘letters’ (shapes) like you would normally do. After I couldn’t figure it out, I was told to look at the white spaces instead. The white spaces spelled out Jesus’ name. I can never look at that graphic again and NOT see Jesus’ name. I tried finding it so I could share it with you but apparently, it’s not on Google. I was able to recreate it using another graphic though. If you haven’t already figured out the picture for today, look at it again. Now that you know, you won’t be able to ‘un-see’ it.
People who are always angry, ‘fly off the handle’ easily, or are consumed with thoughts of ‘how to get even’ will affect you in the same way that knowing the secret behind the graphic did. It won’t be a quick or as obvious, but you will begin to look at the world through their eyes. You will see ‘slights’ or reasons to be angry all around you. You will begin to agree with their grudges, and maybe pick up some of you own. And once those seeds of discontentment are planted, you have a REALLY hard time seeing the good in it again.
There IS good in this world!!! Don’t allow anyone to tell you different. Don’t allow their outlook to become yours. Simply put, stay away from them before they have a chance to influence your perceptions. Let them associate with like minded people of their own ‘kind’.
Pray for them. Especially if they are someone you CAN’T stay away from. Offer YOUR positive point of view when confronted with theirs. Be a ‘Pollyanna’ to their ‘Scrouge’ if need be.
Something else I was thinking about while reading this verse is the ‘entanglement’ issue. Not only can an angry person’s view impact yours, thereby ‘entangling’ you in their viewpoint; but they can drag you into their trouble too. Consider the friend who is with a ‘hot-head’. Sooner or later, that friend ends up in a fight that was started.
This reminds me of a story my husband told me about his youth. It happened when he was dating his first wife. Someone cut them off and got to the gas station pump before they did. Rather than sit and wait, his girlfriend’s brother jumped out of the car and slapped the driver while he was still in his car. The driver got out and beat up his aggressor. His girlfriend then jumped out of the car and started yelling at the other person. She started pushing him and he finally threatened to beat her up too. My husband jumped out of the car to defend her and they started fighting. Before long there were multiple people involved in this fight including his girlfriend on the back of another person hitting them. Long story short, it wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been with a couple of ‘hot-heads’; that night anyway. He wasn’t known for his ‘patience’ at that age either. He has calmed down a bit since then. Unfortunately, his brain damage has brought back the old grudges and I have to work hard to redirect him.
Father God, THANK YOU for taming MY temper and my husband’s. I didn’t get into physical fights but my words likely hurt more people than I EVER should have. Help me support my husband during his brooding times. Help me be a positive influence to those who anger easily, that I can’t get away from. I trust You to pull out any weeds of bitterness that might get planted.
The ‘weed’ I need pulled out MOST is the one of impatience and frustration. Thank You Father. I KNOW You can do this in me.
