Do you notice how busy we keep our lives?  Most families are busy with work, doctor and dentist appointments, school schedules and homework, music and sport events, other hobbies, and most of us have more than one. And this doesn’t include the necessary work of keeping the home going with meals, laundry, yard work, and house maintenance.  And then we add in all the activities of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Even our vacations are kept busy with activities!  Face it, life is just busy, regardless of who we are or what we do.

We do need to slow down in some areas of our lives, regardless of how busy we are, except for one area.  I’ve chosen a few Scriptures that relate to just one area where it’s good to exercise some slowness.  That’s the area of anger.  Ouch.  Did that hurt?  Sorry. Then we will talk about the one area where we should not be slow.  

Nahum 1:3 tells us that the Lord is slow to anger, and great in power. 

Proverbs 16:32 teaches that “he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty. 

Did you notice that there is power and might when we are not angry?  Why is that.  Well, I think it’s because when we control our anger, we control our speech.  When we control our speech, we control the atmosphere around us.  When we control our anger and our words, we don’t say things that we have to give an apology for later.  So, if you think you have lost control in your home, with your children, check up on your anger level.  Find out what you are actually upset about; lots of times it stems from something different than you are dealing with at that very moment. 

James 1:19 instructs us to be swift to hear and slow to speak, slow to wrath. 

Let’s face it, everyone knows that when we are angry, whether justly or unjustly, it is better to be slow to speak and not just spit retaliating words out of our mouths. The attribute that goes along with being slow to anger is the ability to be swift to hear.  This includes not just hearing what the other person is saying, but also hearing in your spirit what you are about to say, and filter it down to be edifying, just, loving, and kind, even when speaking a truth that’s addressing the immediate issue. No one likes the feeling of being offended by what another says, so monitor your words to not be offensive to them. 

It’s much better to learn to control our anger than having to always do damage control for it being out of control.  This is where the saying, obedience is better than sacrifice comes into play. It’s better to speak and be kind than to continually be asking to be forgiven.  (1 Samuel 15:22) 

Ephesians 4:26 teaches us to, “be angry and sin not”; meaning that anger in and of itself is not a sin. The sin of anger comes if it is not controlled.  The fact that it says be angry and sin not clearly says to me that there are some things it’s okay to be angry about, just don’t sin with that anger.  Deal with those situations with truth, love, kindness and the heart of God.  Controlling our anger is a command.  

Now for the one area we should not be slow. 

Luke 24:25, Jesus is speaking, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken.” 

We can see from the very words of Jesus that when we are slow of heart to believe, we are being foolish.  We don’t want to find ourselves slow to believe God’s Word.  To be a strong believer in the Word of God, we must know the Word of God.  To know His Word, we must spend time in His Word. The more we know and understand how much our Lord loves us, the more we want to obey His every word. 

I don’t want to be foolish so I make a point to be quick to believe His Word. I also try to be swift to obey His Word.  I sometimes fall short in this area – procrastination is a delayed obedience – therefore it is disobedience – just a side note. 

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that to keep my anger level manageable I must keep my frustration level down.  The step that leads to controlling frustration in my life is to monitor how much I’m trying to do; how many activities I’m involved in. This level is kept in balance when I continually monitor whether I’m always doing just what I want to do or doing what God wants me to do.  This is not speaking of sin but just speaking of following Him in everyday living and responsibilities.  An example might be that next activity or hobby you would like to do; is it something you would like to do but shouldn’t at this time because of its distraction from what God wants you to concentrate on at this time – it’s that simple.   

So, I say to you (and to myself), prayerfully ask God if there is some area you need to slow down in; but be quick to hear, quick to believe, and quick to obey His voice.