Proverbs 19:1-16: a reflection

1Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in his lips and is a fool. 2It isn’t good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty with one’s feet and miss the way. 3The foolishness of man subverts his way; his heart rages against the LORD. 4Wealth adds many friends, but the poor is separated from his friend. 5A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who pours out lies shall not go free. 6Many will entreat the favor of a ruler, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts. 7All the relatives of the poor shun him; how much more do his friends avoid him! He pursues them with pleas, but they are gone. 8He who gets wisdom loves his own soul. He who keeps understanding shall find good. 9A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who utters lies shall perish. 10Delicate living is not appropriate for a fool, much less for a servant to have rule over princes. 11The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger. It is his glory to overlook an offense. 12The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass. 13A foolish son is the calamity of his father. A wife’s quarrels are a continual dripping. 14House and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD. 15Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep. The idle soul shall suffer hunger. 16He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is contemptuous in his ways shall die.

Among the proverbs gathered here is a word about a quiet strength that most people overlook: the strength to let an offense go. The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, it says; and it is his glory to overlook an offense. To overlook an offense, to let a wrong pass rather than seizing on it, to be slow to anger rather than quick to take offense, is not weakness; the proverb calls it a person's glory. There is a real strength and wisdom in the discretion that does not pounce on every slight, that lets small offenses go, that is slow to anger. Not every wrong needs to be answered; there is glory in overlooking an offense, in choosing to let it pass. The one who can overlook an offense, slow to anger, shows a quiet strength that the quick-tempered lack. To let an offense go is not weakness but glory.

Notice what the proverb calls glory: to overlook an offense, to be slow to anger. It does not praise the one who answers every slight, who is quick to take offense and quick to anger; it praises the one who overlooks an offense, who lets a wrong pass, who is slow to anger. This is not weakness or mere passivity; it is discretion, a real strength and wisdom, and the proverb calls it glory. There is a freedom and a dignity in not being ruled by every offense, in being able to let a slight go rather than seizing on it. The quick-tempered, who must answer every wrong, are in fact less free, more easily provoked; the one who can overlook an offense is master of himself. To be slow to anger, to overlook an offense, is a mark of wisdom and a kind of glory, not a failing. The strength to let a wrong pass is greater than the impulse to answer it.

That is worth taking to heart, for there is wisdom and glory in overlooking an offense and being slow to anger. We can feel that we must answer every slight, that to let an offense pass is weakness; but the proverb calls it a person's glory to overlook an offense, and discretion to be slow to anger. There is a real strength in not being ruled by every wrong, in choosing to let a slight go rather than seizing on it. Not every offense needs to be answered. Do not feel you must answer every slight; there is glory in overlooking an offense and being slow to anger, as the proverb says. Choose to overlook an offense and be slow to anger rather than seizing on every slight, remembering that the proverb calls it a person's glory to overlook an offense and discretion to be slow to anger; for the strength to let a wrong pass is greater than the impulse to answer it, and there is a freedom and dignity in not being ruled by every offense, so that to overlook a slight and be slow to anger is not weakness but a real wisdom and a kind of glory.

Lord, among the proverbs gathered here is a word about a quiet strength that most people overlook: the strength to let an offense go. The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, it says; and it is his glory to overlook an offense. To overlook an offense, to let a wrong pass rather than seizing on it, to be slow to anger rather than quick to take offense, is not weakness; the proverb calls it a person's glory. There is a real strength and wisdom in the discretion that does not pounce on every slight, that lets small offenses go. Not every wrong needs to be answered. Show me what the proverb calls glory: to overlook an offense, to be slow to anger. It does not praise the one who answers every slight, who is quick to take offense; it praises the one who overlooks an offense, who is slow to anger. This is not weakness or mere passivity; it is discretion, a real strength and wisdom. There is a freedom and a dignity in not being ruled by every offense. The quick-tempered, who must answer every wrong, are in fact less free; the one who can overlook an offense is master of himself. Take that to my heart, for there is wisdom and glory in overlooking an offense and being slow to anger. I can feel that I must answer every slight, that to let an offense pass is weakness; but the proverb calls it my glory to overlook an offense, and discretion to be slow to anger. There is a real strength in not being ruled by every wrong. Keep me from feeling I must answer every slight; help me choose to overlook an offense and be slow to anger, Lord, as the proverb says it is a person's glory, for the strength to let a wrong pass is greater than the impulse to answer it.