1 Corinthians 13:5c
Ps Paul Cheng
“…a sudden outburst of emotion…”
~3 min read
1 Corinthians 13:5c, charity is not easily provoked.
To be provoked is to arouse anger. It is a sudden outburst of emotion.
Paul was not speaking about righteous anger. For example, when we see God and His Word being attacked, blasphemed or contradicted, or people trying to divide or destroy the church, we should have this righteous anger. When Jesus cleansed the Temple, He was angry with the abuse of God’s house. Yet on many other occasions, when He was personally abused, He did not become angry or defensive. Likewise, Paul was angry when he responded strongly against such things as heresy, immorality, worldliness and the misuse of spiritual gifts, but he did not become angry at those who beat, jailed or persecuted him.
When we hear of a wicked man trying to cheat the young into illicit vices, we should be angry. When we hear of someone trying to influence our child and cause him or her to commit a horrendous sin, we should be angry. If we are not angry, then something is terribly wrong with us!
But even in our righteous anger, we must be very careful because anger often leads to sin. That is why Ephesians 4:26 said, Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. In other words, do not let our righteous anger turn to bitterness and sin, and do not prolong that anger because in doing so, we are giving the devil a place in our heart from where he can begin to control our emotions and actions.
Here, the easily provoked that Paul was talking about had nothing to do with righteous anger. It has to do with things done against us that are personally offensive. Are you someone who is easily provoked? Does it take just a little thing to trigger your anger to explode?
If there is something wrong in your life, and it needs to be corrected, and someone brings it to your attention, are you quick to be irritated? A person who is easily provoked is not approachable; he is not teachable and is unwilling to receive constructive criticism.
There are some people who are happy for you to point out their mistakes, and they are able to accept criticism. They are quite pleasant until you bring up some issues about their children, and then all of a sudden, they turn into “monsters.” That specific issue is their trigger point which easily provoked them.
Oftentimes, people who are easily provoked, would not be happy with any situations. They will always be looking for occasions to take offence at people. They are always unhappy, never satisfied, and they will not say anything good about anything or anyone.
If you are someone who is easily provoked, it would mean that you are someone whom everyone has to be sensitive to. Everyone has to walk on “eggshells” because of you. Everyone has to think about what you want and what would make you happy, so that you will not lose your temper.
The people who are closest to us, our husbands, wives and children, will know us best, whether we are patient or easily provoked. It is not good enough for us to tell our husbands or wives that we love them but we are always getting angry with what they say or do. It is not good enough to tell our children that we love them but we are always shouting and yelling at them for doing things that irritate us and interfere with our plans. Some people may respond by saying, “Well, I know that I lose my temper a lot, but it is all over in a few minutes.” One pastor wisely said, “While that is true, so is the nuclear bomb, and so is the impulsive murderer.” If we are not careful, a great deal of damage can be done in a very short time. Our anger is always destructive, and sometimes, our outburst of anger can leave permanent damages.
Dear friend, as believers, we need to recognise if we have an issue with anger, and ask the Spirit of God to help and grant us the strength to control it. And we must be willing to take concrete steps to deal with our anger. A Christian friend of mine who once had anger issues was subsequently able to become patient. So I curiously asked him how he was able to overcome that. He shared with me that whenever he felt this anger ventilating in his heart, he would take three steps. (1) Firstly, he would walk away from the situation. (2) Secondly, he would recite the church weekly memory verses. (3) And finally, he would pray. Praise God for giving him godly wisdom! We must let the love of God to guard our hearts against what we say, do or think, not our emotions. Love is not easily provoked!
In Christ,
Pastor Paul Cheng
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The Qualities Of Love (Part 5) — Love Is Not Puffed UpThe Qualities Of Love (Part 5) — Love Is Not Puffed Up1 Corinthians 13:4e
The Qualities Of Love (Part 4) — Love Vaunteth Not ItselfThe Qualities Of Love (Part 4) — Love Vaunteth Not Itself1 Corinthians 13:4d
The Qualities Of Love (Part 3) — Love Envieth NotThe Qualities Of Love (Part 3) — Love Envieth NotCorinthians 13:4c
The Qualities Of Love (Part 9) — Love Thinketh No EvilThe Qualities Of Love (Part 9) — Love Thinketh No Evil1 Corinthians 13:5d
The Qualities Of Love (Part 7) — Love Is Not SelfishThe Qualities Of Love (Part 7) — Love Is Not Selfish1 Corinthians 13:5b
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The Qualities Of Love (Part 6) — Love Does Not MisbehaveThe Qualities Of Love (Part 6) — Love Does Not Misbehave1 Corinthians 13:5a
The Qualities Of Love (Part 10) — Love Rejoiceth Not In IniquityThe Qualities Of Love (Part 10) — Love Rejoiceth Not In Iniquity1 Corinthians 13:6a
The Qualities Of Love (Part 11) — Love Rejoiceth In The TruthThe Qualities Of Love (Part 11) — Love Rejoiceth In The Truth1 Corinthians 13:6b
The Qualities Of Love (Part 15) — Love Endureth All ThingsThe Qualities Of Love (Part 15) — Love Endureth All Things1 Corinthians 13:7d
The Qualities Of Love (Part 14) — Love Hopeth All ThingsThe Qualities Of Love (Part 14) — Love Hopeth All Things1 Corinthians 13:7c
The Qualities Of Love (Part 12) — Love Bears All ThingsThe Qualities Of Love (Part 12) — Love Bears All Things1 Corinthians 13:7a
The Qualities Of Love (Part 13) — Love Believeth All ThingsThe Qualities Of Love (Part 13) — Love Believeth All Things1 Corinthians 13:7b
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