“This you know, my beloved brethren, but everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;” James 1.19

 Hmm… that sounds easy doesn’t it? Oh yeah, if everything was perfect and everyone treated us the way we want to be treated. (Hey? Doesn’t that sound like a verse from the Bible?) It actually does say in the Scriptures that’s WE’RE to treat others how WE’D want to be treated. So… it isn’t supposed to matter how other people treat us, just how we act towards them.

That can become extremely hard when circumstances seem to fly out of our hands. I have a younger brother who is mentally delayed. He's nine years old and has the understanding, vocabulary, and social skills of (maybe) around a four or five-year-old. He does and says things that sometimes make no sense, will have fits of temper, and can cause feelings of frustration and anger to swell up in me. It's very hard to react in a loving and gentle way to his behavior. But *sigh of resignation* I still have no excuse to sin against him in anger. I must be quick to hear his screams of anger as cries for help. I must be slow to speak words that might hurt him. I must be slow to become angry. I don't understand my brother, but God does. God put him in my life for a purpose. Believe me, there are other people in my life that frustrate me... and I sometimes have a hard time believing that God has a plan beneath it all. But, that's what faith is, right? "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Heb. 11:1).

So, I have to have faith in th midst of my frustration and anger! (Doesn't that sound like a major conflict?!)

Wow... that's truly something against the human sin nature. This might be a good time to pray!

God bless!