Proverbs 19:11 

11A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. 

I landed on this Proverb this morning, and as usual, there was one verse that made me pause and reflect deeply. Sometimes, I feel like Proverbs should be called Revelations, simply because that’s what this book produces in me. How powerful is the idea of retrospect and hindsight? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished for a time machine to undo something that my lack of patience produced. This often happens within my family, especially as a father and husband, where my lack of patience can cause unnecessary friction. 

For a while I’ve been working on not reacting when my son misses an expectation set by Yolanda or myself. In the past, I would react with harsh words and physical actions, like storming out or slamming a door. Living through Christ involves intentionally reordering our core personality traits and being willing to die to self. I often find that my anger is born out of the perceived grievous fault against me whether it be expectation gaps, disobedience or disrespectful behavior. Once triggered, how am I supposed to be a parent or a husband successfully? Even as an adult, when another person is angry with us, we go into defensive mode to self-protect. From that moment any opportunity for us to receive feedback from another person is shut down. This is especially true for our children.  

If we are to receive glory from our kids, co-workers or spouses we must find a split second of patience to rebuke the anger rising within us. Glory is defined as honor, respect and a sense of noble character. In other words, someone to be looked up to. For me, that’s pretty much all I’m looking for, just like as sons and daughters of God we glorify Him and that’s all He wants from us. The next time someone crosses your line, remember that it’s your line and not the line of Jesus Christ. By letting others trespass, rebuking anger, and forgiving offenses, we gain glory and reflect Christ’s patience. This process allows us all to grow and fosters a more loving and understanding environment. Through this process you will die to self, and He will present you with a new path of patience, where all parties involved, (my son and I) will have an opportunity to grow. My son will listen and be able to receive a lesson. I will also extend my life and delay the outpouring of grey hair showing up on the top of my head.