Deadly Dangers Of Pride And Anger
Every man and woman standing for marriage restoration can relate to how difficult it is to overcome the natural inclination to give in to pride and prideful anger, and I’m sure most of us can also testify to the absolute disaster it ALWAYS caused. The following verses demonstrate why they’re so deadly when we’re seeking marriage restoration.
Proverbs 13:10 (NKJV)
10 By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom.
Proverbs 29:23
A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.
Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
As men and women standing for the restoration of our marriages, wisdom, honor, and the avoidance of strife and anger, are the things we want and need, but often seem so unable to attain. That’s why we need to examine our hearts to see if we’re walking in the spirit, which is apparent when we demonstrate God’s unconditional love; or if we’re too often controlled by our flesh, and react in pride and anger. Since NOTHING good EVER comes of that, we MUST focus on overcoming it, because it can and will stop marriage restoration dead in its tracks.
As difficult as it may seem, we CAN overcome and avoid the destruction our pride and anger cause, by understanding and putting the following verses from Ephesians 6 into practice:
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
We’ll get into this in a lot more detail in this week’s Restoration Principles, but I’d be remiss not to also mention 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, which simplifies where this battle begins, and that is with our thoughts, which we MUST take just a minute to consider and control BEFORE we open our mouths or act when our pride or feelings are wounded and hurt:
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Just remember…EVERYTHING we SAY and DO glorifies Christ or the devil, so take just a moment to consider who you will glorify BEFORE you act or speak and you will be amazed with the effect it has in your life!