Wisdom Yields Patience

In summary of Proverbs 19:11 it says, “A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.”

Bottom Line:

Good sense will make you slow to anger, and it is a good virtue to overlook an offense.

What it means to me:

Wisdom and understanding will help me control my temper and make me slow to anger.  It would be to my honor to forgive and forget wrongs done to me instead of holding on to them. This means that when I’m dealing with people who are offensive or irritating, I need to look past the behavior, to the pain they may be experiencing. I’ve learned that everything we do is motivated by something. When people are hurting others, it’s highly likely that they’re hurting on the inside. A Hurt person will hurt others (consciously or unconsciously.)  The more I can understand another’s background, the more grace I’ll be able to show them. If I think of the people who I find the most difficult to deal with, I’ll likely realize that I probably don’t know anything about their background.  I’m likely not to cut them any slack. If I don’t know their story, I’m not showing any grace.  The Bible says in Proverbs 19:11, “A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense” (NIV). Wisdom helps in with not being offended. Wisdom will allow me patience. When I understand somebody’s background, I’ll better understand the stress that person is under, thus making it easier to show grace, and giving me the patience to overlook the offense.  This is real love. The Bible says refusing to be offended by other people is actually an act of mature love. It shows how much love I’ve got in my heart. The more love I have in my heart, the harder it will be to be offended.  The less love I have in my heart, the more insecure I feel and the easier it is to be offended. The Bible says in Proverbs 10:12, “Love overlooks the wrongs that others do” (CEV). The more I am filled with love, the less I’m going to be upset with others when they are demanding, disapproving, etc. Today, if I’m dealing with a difficult person: I must choose to use wisdom; and refuse to be offended.