Spiritual Love (9) - Love Isn't Provoked
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November 04, 2012 |
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 "[Love] does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered." (1 Corinthians 13:5)
Some people easily get angry when things do not go as well as they want. To reveal such feelings outwardly is getting provoked.
Love makes the heart of men positive. On the other hand, anger hurts one's heart and makes the heart negative. It also makes the heart dark. So, if you get angry, you cannot dwell in the love of God and your spiritual growth will be slow.
By causing God's children to get angry the enemy devil is able to make them stumble. The major snares that the enemy devil sets up before God's children are hatred and anger.
Then, what should we do to have spiritual love that isn't provoked and be able to give glory to God as His children?
1. Disparities between showing righteous indignation and being provoked
Being provoked does not just mean getting angry, shouting, cursing, and becoming violent. If your face distorts, if your countenance changes, and if your way of speaking becomes abrupt, it is all part of acting on provocation. Though the degree is different in each case, it is the outward expression of the hatred and ill-feelings in the heart. But it doesn't mean just by seeing one's appearance we can judge or condemn him thinking he is angry. Only God can read hearts exactly and no one else.
In Matthew Chapter 21, Jesus drove away those who were selling things in the Temple. At the time, people were exchanging money on the tables, or selling or buying livestock to or from people who came to the Temple of Jerusalem for the Passover.
Jesus was so gentle that He didn't quarrel nor cry out and even no one could hear His voice in the streets. But seeing the situation in the Temple, He took an entirely different attitude. He made a whip out of cord and drove out the livestock. He overturned the tables of the money exchangers and dove-sellers.
When worldly people saw this Jesus, they might have thought that He was angry. But at the time it is not that He was angry, but He just had righteous indignation. He let them realize that the unrighteousness of defiling the Temple of God cannot be accepted even though it was intended to serve a good purpose. This kind of righteous indignation is the result of the love for God who perfects love with His justice.
As read in Mark Chapter 3, on the Sabbath, Jesus met a man in the synagogue who had a withered hand. People watched Him to see if He would heal the man on the Sabbath so they could accuse Him of violating the Sabbath. At this time, Jesus knew the hearts of people and asked, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?" (Mark 3:4) Then, they became speechless.
In those days, evil people only tried to condemn and kill Jesus who did only good works. So, sometimes Jesus rebuked them with strong expressions. It was because He wanted them to realize and turn from the sin. In the same way the righteous indignation that Jesus showed toward the Pharisees and Scribes was derived from His love that wanted to awaken them and lead them to life. This is how getting provoked and showing righteous indignation are different. Only when one has become sanctified and has no sin at all can his rebukes and reproves give life to souls.
2. Why do people get provoked?
The reason why people get provoked, firstly, is because the others don't agree with their own thoughts and hearts. Each of you has a different heart and different ideas since you have been raised in different surroundings, environments, and teachings. Your etiquette or standard of judgment are all different from person to person. But if you wanted to fit others to your standard, you cannot help but to have hard-feelings.
Another reason is because others don't obey you. If you are a superior or you think you are better at something, you may want others to obey you. Of course, it is natural for subordinates to respect their superiors and obey the order and hierarchy of authority, but it is not right to force them to obey. If the superior uses coercion alone to make subordinates follow his ideas without regard for their ideas, it's not right.
When people are harmed or treated unfairly they can become provoked. When someone holds a grudge against them for no reason; if they suffer disadvantage; if their subordinates don't work as they want or they instruct them to do; and when they hear some foul languages from others or are insulted; these are all things that may easily cause them to become provoked.
Before people are actually provoked, ill-feeling arises first from their hearts. Others' words or actions stimulate their feelings first and then the feelings come out as anger on the outside. That is, if your feelings become affected, it means you are at the step just before becoming provoked. But if we get provoked, we can't dwell in God's love and it will have a negative influence on our spiritual growth. We can't be changed into the truth as long as we hold these evil feelings.
3. The consequence of those who get provoked
In case of Elisha, he received a portion of inspiration double that of his teacher, Elijah and also performed more works of God's power. He blessed a woman with no child to conceive a baby, revived the dead, healed leprosy, and defeated enemy armies with prayer. He amazingly showed God's power. But Elisha died of a disease despite his great works that he had done during his life. What was the reason?
An incident occurred when Elisha went up to Bethel. Youths came out from the city and mocked and jeered him and said, "Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!" in 2 Kings 2:23 because Elisha had little hair and had no particular attractiveness in appearance. He told them nicely not to do it anymore, but they taunted him all the more harshly. When he could no long stand it, he cursed them. Then two female bears came out of the woods and in a moment, they mauled 42 of the youths.
This incident happened due to the youths' cruel taunting, but it showed Elisha had evil, ill-feelings in his heart. This incident is not unrelated to his dying of a disease. This indicates that we as God's children must not become provoked. It is just as James 1:20 reads, "For the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God."
4. In order not to get provoked
A spring gains more stored energy and strength when it is compressed, hence it 'springs out' when it is suddenly released. Likewise, if you just hold your anger in, you might pass a moment of crisis but your anger will explode someday. In order not to get provoked, we have to cast off the ill-feelings that allow our hearts to be provoked. It's not suppressing the feelings, but it is getting rid of all ill-feelings, not having any that must be suppressed, and building goodness and love in our hearts.
Of course, we cannot simply cast off all ill-feelings and fill our hearts with goodness and love overnight. We have to try every day, continuously. First, when we are faced with a situation of provocation, we have to train ourselves not to get angry. In such a situation, I urge you to take the time to think about what kind of benefit getting angry will bring to you. Then, you don't have to regret later and you will not be ashamed.
If we endure patiently to achieve spiritual love by the help of the Holy Spirit, later we will be able to cast off the ill-feelings that provoke us. The frequency of provocation is reduced from ten times to nine, eight, and so on. Later, you will just have peace of mind even if somebody gives you a hard time.
Dear brothers and sisters. Are you patient before brothers in faith even in a situation that can provoke you in the church, but you easily get angry at home or in the workplace? God does not dwell only in the church! God takes us as His temple and always stays in us. He sees through of every person's mind and thoughts anywhere, anytime. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will give glory to God with holy words and deeds.
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