A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But the slow to anger calms a dispute.   Proverbs 15:18

Whenever we face a situation where we can react in anger we have a choice.  I know that some don't think so because they say that so-in-so made me angry - or such-and-such a situation made me mad.  The facts would say something much different.  They say that we control our temperment - not that circumstances and people control what we do.  Today's proverb helps us understand this.  Each day as we begin to interact with people and face a world filled with its varicolored situations, we need to do so making a conscious choice.  What that choice should be is the topic of God's wise counsel to us in this verse.

We have a choice whether we are going to be "hot-tempered" or not.  The Hebrew word for "hot-tempered" is very instructive and descriptive here.  It is "chemah" and means to be rage-filled, angry, and filled with poison or venom.  This is fascinating because we need to make a conscious choice not to have the venom and poison of the evil one flowing through our veins as we walk through our day.  By this I am not saying that we are demon possessed or anything fantastical like that.  Instead I refer to a much more subtle thing that energizes the strife that will follow such a man through his day.  Let me explain.

Each day we live we interact with others and with our environment from morning to night.  As we do this we have both problems and problem people come into our lives.  It is possible as we do this to be bitten by the evil one in such a way that his venom and poison enters our system.  This usually happens when someone hurts our feelings - or tramples what we perceive to be our right to be treated better or with a certain modicum of respect.  It can also happen when we begin to entertain the thought that a certain set of providential circumstances are a raw deal.  If we are not careful to cry out to God to remove such venom from the veins of our thinking and our heart - it can begin to do its insidious work in us.  Over time this poison will turn to bitterness against someone - resentment grows to a point where what at first was an annoyance becomes a seething cauldron of anger and rage toward someone.  In regard to circumstances that our God allows providentially in our lives, we can think Him cruel and uncaring.  This poison will turn our hearts a deep shade of bitter - and we soon find it hard to read His Word, pray, and ultimately to trust Hiim to cause all things to work for good.  As the infection spreads deeper in our reasoning, we soon become angry at our core - which is where this one is in this verse.  Thus the temper of his soul is such that he is constantly stirring up strife.  I've known men over the years who say that trouble seems to follow them.  But in a majority of the cases, they were one who had allowed the venom of the evil one through slights and circumstantial difficulties to  reach a critical mass in their hearts.  The trouble they perceived to follow them - really was trouble that they encoruaged because they are so angry in their core.  I've even watched this in some who do this not through active agression - but through passive-agressive actions and words (or the lack of them). 

There is another choice we can make in the Lord.  That is that we become those who calm disputes.  These are those who have at their core a work of the grace of God that makes them slow to anger.  The Hebrew word used for this is one that is also used to describe long pinions - which are the largest feathers on the wing of birds.  These particular feathers are used in birds to reduce drag on their wings thus helping them control both the wind and the turbulence that is natural in the sky while they fly.  What an astounding picture this is for us of the patient, long-suffering man who chooses to calm disputes rather than fuel them.  Like a bird who uses their long pinions to ride the wind while diffusing the problems it causes - these people ride the events of everyday life.  They choose to deflect and diffuse both the insults and indignities of life - as well as the problematic providences that we cannot change.  Rather than  having such things make their flight a bumpy one, their choice to be slow to anger allows them to ride the difficulties of living on earth rather than having the things of earth ride rough-shod over them.

A wise man knows that life is not going to be fair - neither is it going to bow down and kiss his feet every day.  He knows that since we live in a fallen world, that he will run into fallen people who act . . . well, they act fallen.  Therefore he chooses to turn to God, who deals with the indignities of over 7 billion people daily, and yet who does not consume them with His wrath.  This grace daily allows him to stretch forth his spiritual pinions and diffuse the problems and the poison that would turn him from being a peaceful, gracious man into an angry strife-ridden one.  May God give us mercy that we would be such men and women.

Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear Is a wicked ruler over a poor people. Proverbs 28:15

Oppression of the poor by a wicked ruler - that sounds like a modern day headline in one of our newpapers - or in a report that we would read online.  Unfortunately oppression has been going on every since the fall of man - and the beginning of politics.  When the sinfulness of man combined with the treachery of politics - it was not going to be long before men learned how to oppress the poor and helpless for their own benefit.

We read in today's proverb that a wicked ruler over a poor people is like a roaring lion or a rushing bear.  A roaring lion scares the other animals in the forest.  The lion roars to establish his territory and his authority.  Thus when a wicked ruler acts like a roaring lion - he is establishing that he has the power and authority over the poor ones he is oppressing.  We've seen it again and again in history.  The powerful oppress and dominate the poor - even resorting to attacking them with the army to establish their power.  They will use the secret police to kidnap them and torture them to silence anyone's opposition and threat to their power.  It is a sad thing to see - but unfortunately it will continue until the day that Jesus Christ comes to establish a  kingdom based upon justice and righteousness. 

Those who dare to stand against such a wicked ruler will find themselves quickly attacked and often silenced for good.  They may be thrown into prison - or summarily executed for their boldness to oppose the ruler - or threaten their absolute stranglehold on power.  However it is done, the poor quickly learn to hide any desire for freedom and justice, because these things can cost them their lives.  This is why it is so vital for those who have the freedom to choose their leaders, to choose wise and godly ones.  To do otherwise will cost us far more than just a wrongly cast vote - it could cost us our freedoms - and in some severe cases - even our lives.

Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest. Proverbs 6:6-8

Ants are good teachers for us when it comes to avoiding laziness and a lack of discipline in our lives.  The father here uses ants to teach his son a lesson about avoiding the sin of laziness. 

Having told his son to go to the ant and observe her ways - he says that wisdom is with these little creatures.  Their great wisdom is how they work hard without having to be supervised.  They have no chief, officer, or ruler watching over all that they do - making them work.  The ant knows that there is a time when gathering won't be possible - so he works hard when he can.  He also knows to store things up - to prepare for the times when there will be no food. 

The lessons for us are numerous.  First, we need to have a self-driven work ethic.  This is an ability to work hard - even when no one is looking.  It means that when we know what to do - we do it.  We don't need someone looking over our shoulders - or standing over us making sure that we work hard.  We are motivated from within to do that.  When I talk to the businessmen in my congregation my heart aches for them.  They say that it is so difficult to find people who want to work.  They tell me that most of the people they interview have great expectations for what they will be paid and how they will be treated - but almost no work ethic to do what they should do.  What is even more sad to me is that they tell me that this is the case whether they are non-christians or christians.  That is an indictment that we should not have laid at the feet of the church.  We should have a work ethic driven by a desire to honor God. 

The second lesson is also important for us to grasp.  We need to be wise in how we deal with our money - setting aside funds for times when things are lean.  History warns us that these time will come.  Over and over again there have been lean times for humanity.  The wise who store up for those times are ready, while those who simply spend all that they get - are unprepared for such times.  I am not saying that we should be like the foolish farmer who stored up an abundance - and was not rich toward God.  But I am saying that just like there are those examples, there are also others where God wanted His people to be wise in setting aside things for a lean time.  Joseph was such an example - and his wisdom in setting aside the blessings of God - kept an entire region of the world from starvation and devastation. 

A wise man knows the value of hard work - and of frugality.  Both are character traits that God encourages us to embrace.  Even though such things are mocked by the world around us, we should continue to speak in praise of them - and more importantly practice them to our future preparation and blessing.

A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel. Proverbs 12:10

Finally, a proverb dealing with animal rights!  Now we can blast all those who choose to wear fur as a covering for themselves!  Oh, but wait a minute - God covered Adam and Eve with the skins of animals.  Oh, snap - we've got another problem because John the Baptist wore a leather girdle - the hide of a cow.  So, what exactly is God speaking about here when He advocates having regard for the life of his animal?

A righteous man regards the life of his animal.  He is concerned for it - and cares for it.  Even though we cannot biblically justify the extreme of the animal rights movement - we can see that God is not pleased when we treat animals cruelly.  Yet in the worship of God Himself - there were required sacrifices of animals.  But there is a difference between rearing animals for the purpose of meat and clothing - and someone just being cruel to an animal while it is alive.  God does not forbid us to eat meat.  Many of the men He used greatly were shepherds.  Their purpose and job was to work with livestock and raise it to be a food source for their family and for other families.  So we can rule out the idea that God is against all killing of animals for the purpose of eating meat - and creating clothing. 

But, we cannot look at this passage and justify someone treating their animals with cruelty and indifference.  Someone who would beat an animal just because they want to - or because they are mean - will not find justification for their actions from the Word of God.  God desires for us to treat our livestock as well as our pets with the kind of compassion and kindness that is indicative of His own nature.  When we become cruel and unkind to animals - that displeases God.

What we read about the wicked though, is that even their compassion is cruel.  This is an interesting oxymoron.  Compassionless compassion is what we can expect from the wicked man.  The wicked don't care about animals - and will whip them mercilessly.  It is a sad thing to watch a wicked man abuse an animal.  I remember when we were given a beautiful Labrador Retriever.  We did not know the people who gave it to us - and were truly grateful for the dog.  But soon after receiving him, we could tell that they were abusive toward the dog.  Any time we would even approach him, he would cower and yelp - fearing that he was about to be hit.  We loved him - and eventually he knew that we were not going to strike him.  Still it broke my heart to think how cruel someone had to be to get a dog to respond like that. 

The true believer realizes that all creation belongs to God.  Thus as we walk through this life we want to treat what is God's respectfully.  That does not mean that we don't use nature as God intended (which means that hunting and fishing, and raising livestock is not evil).  It does mean that we are not cruel and evil with it.  Those kind of actions are reserved for those who are wicked, and who do not fear God.