The Hotheaded and The Coldhearted

(Prov 14:17 GW) A short-tempered person acts stupidly, and a person who plots evil is hated.

This morning we continue our series, "Unlocking the Power of Proverbs - Walking in the Wisdom of God." In this verse Solomon teaches us about two categories of people, neither of=2 0which we (as believers) should aspire to be. They are: those with a short-temper and those who plot to do evil. The former does things in anger, without considering the consequences, like yelling out insults, screaming out curses, slamming doors, throwing whatever is within arm's reach, breaking things, and being overall 'out of control.'
Is that bad? Absolutely. That's terrible and it clearly shows that a person who is ruled by their emotions. But I believe latter category is even worse. This person has control. Those that devise evil schemes know exactly what they are doing and that's what makes them even scarier.

The Message Bible does a good job of capturing the two categories in modern English. It reads: "The hotheaded do things they'll later regret; the coldhearted get the cold shoulder." That's a good way to describe20these two types of people: hotheaded and coldhearted. The hotheaded does stupid things, things he will later regret, but he does them in a hasty and not well-thought-out manner. While the coldhearted's evil is pre-meditated and carefully thought through.

I know you would probably not want to deal with either or the two, but if you had to choose, would you rather deal with a person who "flies off the handle" and says/does ridiculous things or the person who seems completely in control as they carefully and cold-bloodedly plan out evil? While I agree that neither is attractive, I would prefer to deal with the hotheaded over the coldhearted.
The hotheaded shows (with their actions) that they have no control over their emotions. This is a challenge, but it is definitely not as hard to overcome as the coldblooded. The coldblooded clearly has control and focus, but they are guided in the wrong direction; towards evil and not peace. Teaching someone to control their emotions (for the hotheaded) is one thing, but changing the content of their character (for the coldblooded) is a much harder task. But the good news is that IN CHRIST nothing is impossible.

I believe Solomon's lesson for us is about self-control. We should not strive to be either hotheaded or coldhearted. If you are either one this morning, there is still hope. Let's look at each:

For the hotheaded: If you have the propensity to "fly off the handle" and to lose control of your emotions, then spend time with God and with his people. The more you spend time with God - in prayer, worship, fellowship with others, and in his Word - the more you will develop the love of God in you. Once God's love is developed inside of you, you will learn to control of every negative emotion and in-so-doing, you will be taking control of your life.

For the coldhearted: Your mind must be renewed (see Rom 12:1,2 and Eph 4:23) and that will only come by receiving and applying God's Word. The more Word you get down inside of you, the more you will be transformed into the image and likeness of God. Before you know it, you will find yourself operating in God's love towards others and having thoughts of peace and not of evil.

Father, I thank You for loving me so much. You love me enough to want to see me succeed in every area of my life and for me to do so, I must take control of my self. I declare, right now, by faith, that my spirit, soul, and body are all sanctified for Your purposes. I don't allow my emotions to rule me, I rule over them. I take control of every way ward thought and I bring it into alignment with Your Word. I take control of my mind and I think good things. I make plans of peace and not of evil, I operate in love and not hate, and I have the self-control needed to maximize my purpose and potential while I am in the earth. In Jesus' name. Amen!