Walking in love and light requires wisdom.
Paul states wisdom may take a communal effort.
In verse 19 he tells the Ephesians to be, “speaking
to one another in psalms and hymns…making
melody in your hearts…giving thanks always to
God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ.” What does this have to do with wisdom?
In order to face the hurting world lost in darkness,
Christians need to bolster each other up with
prayers, hymns, and praise. We are called to
catch each other from stumbling into the darkness
where our emotions override our actions. If you
are struggling with anger, seek godly counsel and
prayer. Don’t let the emotion brood inside of you
and sour your attitude. As Scripture wisely advises,
don’t let the sun set on your anger. (Ephesians
4:26)
When negative thoughts begin to envelop our
hearts, hurt and anger begins to simmer. We
become too focused on our reactions. Because
they hurt us, we want to retaliate. That’s human
nature. If this is allowed to happen, it can block
godly wisdom from ruling our hearts and reactions.
We may be too wrapped up in the situation to see
it for what it really is—a person hurt us because
they were hurting.
But Jesus teaches a better way. We are to combat
hurt (human emotion) with love (righteous action.)
The wise counsel of a Christian, who is removed
from the passion of the situation, can help us
diffuse the aggravation we feel. Our focus shifts
from how much the tormentor hurt us to what we
can do to help them not hurt so much. With the
wisdom of the Holy Spirit and others’ prayers
shielding our reactions,
we are more able to
love that disagreeable
person the way Christ
commands.
Love, wisdom and light
bring good out of evil.
Prayer
provides
us
the strength to walk
away, just as Brady’s
dad
recommended.
When calm wisdom
replaces the negative
“he or she hurt me”
emotion, the light of
Christ inside us dispels
the dark thoughts from
invading the situation.
Love permeates our
hearts and we become a
beacon of hope.
By walking away instead
of lashing back in anger,
we may just entice our
tormentors to follow us
into Christ’s forgiving
and healing arms. It’s
the most loving thing we
can do for others. But
equally important, it is
the best we can do for
ourselves.