Today’s Blog: Who is Stirring Up Your Anger?
TODAY’S PROVERB: For as churning milk produces butter, and twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife. Proverbs 30:33, TLV
Talk about relevant. Today’s proverb is about stirring up anger — something so widespread that we probably wonder if our country will ever be the same again.
Why is the “stirring” happening? That is a simple question with a complicated answer. I’m no political pundit or psychologist or trained anything, but I’m a follower of the Creator of the Universe and have had my nose in Proverbs for several decades. So, for what it’s worth, here are my thoughts.
FWIW
Does our country still have roots of racism? I believe it does. Not everywhere. Not in every soul. But we haven’t had enough years since slavery and civil rights and the Holocaust to learn how to spot racism especially when its tentacles surface within our government, institutions, churches, or playgrounds. We just haven’t had enough time to figure it out — how to practically live a life completely free of prejudice.
To deny this fact is to ignore the problem. And Scripture is clear about what happens when we ignore a problem — it gets worse.
Twenty-odd years ago when I begged the LORD to give me wisdom, His answer was to go to the source — Proverbs. We can pray for peace in this country — and we should — however, to learn what it means to experience racism and paths to avoid it, we need to go to the source.
Whose Voice are We Listening to?
Right now every news and social media outlet is trying to make their voice heard. Loudly. There are angry voices. Hurting voices. Indignant voices. Violent voices. Which voices are we listening to?
I heard a voice the other day that shifted my paradigm. It began while watching the movie, Just Mercy. My husband and I wept. We realized that we were part of the problem because of our naivety. Because we didn’t fully understand just how deep this root goes, we couldn’t address the problem around us.
I wanted to have a conversation with our son-in-love, Shemuel, but had no idea where to begin. I spoke with our daughter and she said, the topic was painful to him, but he knew we loved him.
Then a friend posted a link to a video with Chip & Joanna Gaines, their children, and Emmanuel Acho. The purpose: to have an uncomfortable conversation about teaching their kids to “see color” but without prejudice. The conversation was riveting, especially when one of the children asked Emmanuel Acho “if he’s afraid of white people.”
Here was a gentle voice I wanted to listen to — a voice I wanted to support by spreading the word about these short, powerful videos. So that’s what I’m doing.
We have a Choice
It’s easy to listen to the negative voices reporting about negative voices and behaviors. Which then compel us to comment negatively. We read various negative posts on social media and attempt to argue over the top of their voices. The problem is negativity through words and deeds has done nothing to foster change — just fear, anger, and chaos.
Meanwhile, those still, small voices that speak truth are ignored — or never heard. So, those are the voices I am searching for, and they are out there.
We have a choice what we see, hear, and take into our souls. I choose to focus on the voices and behaviors that speak truth in love — even if it’s uncomfortable — and truth in deed. How about you?
May we choose our voices carefully, my friends.
Proverbs 30:33 Tree of Life Version – TLV, #tlvbible, #tlvproverbs
