Have a Faith Worth Sharing - Ecclesiastes 7:9

Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. - Ecclesiastes 7:9

You know you are in for a lot of good parenting when your kids mimic you.  Not all copying is bad.  For example, my wife never realized that when shopping she and her mother carry their purse exactly the same.  When my son was little, he would come and shave with me - real shaving cream and a fake razor.  He would watch my every move and copy it.  I will always remember that.

The bad habits are the ones that require strong parenting.  Yep...I have bad habits.  I never realized how bad until I saw myself in my son one day.  I began to realize that I had an anger issue that had to be dealt with.  I was bringing my work problems home.  I was never violent but I was becoming touchy.  Now, this is different from when I get frustrated when trying to fix something...okay maybe not that different.

Being quick to anger can be a sign that our spirits are growing further from God.  It can also be a sign that we are not relying on God's comfort and peace - we are operating outside of the Fruit of the Spirit.  A foolish person never heeds these warnings until they have damaged relationships or ruined opportunities.

So what do we do?  Seek first the kingdom of God - reaffirm your relationship with Him.  Jesus said He came to give us Peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding.  Prayer, reading God's Word, sharing your faith - getting back to the basic foundations of faith help to refocus our attention on God. 

Tommy Barnett, a pastor in Phoenix, says that a great indicator of our relationship with God is our desire to share our faith.  It grows colder as we walk further from Him.  It grows colder as we loose appreciation for how we live out our faith.  Why?

I have come to believe that as we walk further from God, we can become embarrassed by our faith.  We would prefer to keep it hidden so we do not have to explain ourselves (even if on a subconscious level).  Want a warmer relationship with God?  Then have a faith worth sharing. Our relationship with God affects everything we we do.

The foolish keep performing the same failed actions expecting different results.  Change you by changing your attitude.  Rick Warren put it this way - "what I think determines what I feel which determines how I act".  He also says you can say the opposite - "how I act determines how I feel which determines how I think".  He was talking about how we put the Fruit of the Spirit into action in our life.  It is our choice.

As for me, I choose to grow closer to God so that I am no longer easily provoked.  And I will be coaching my son in how to do the same.  Parenting is never easy but the rewards in the long term become the pay off.  Don't give the keys of provocation to anyone esle.  Take control and seek God, and His righteousness will be added to you.

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