Church: Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia | Text: Proverbs 14:17 | Date: August 9, 2020 | Speaker: Fred Zaspel

Be seated. It’s good to see you all this morning. Several of you are back from vacation; we welcome you back home. And I really don’t want to embarrass her by pointing her out, but I’m sorry, Janet, it is great to see you back. Great to have you back with us. We’ve prayed for you so much.

Proverbs chapter 14. We have seen so many times here together that the Scriptures, in part, are given to us to show us how to live. That’s not all, but they are given to us in part to show us how to live. Of course, more fundamentally than that, they’re given to show us Christ, who has saved us from our sin through his death on the cross. But as we’ve seen so many times, the salvation that we have in Christ is not just acceptance, pardon, and acceptance before God. God’s goal in saving us is to change us and to make us conform to his image—conformed to the image of his Son.

And many passages of Scripture are given to guide us in that pursuit of what a holy life, a godly life, looks like. Proverbs, the wisdom literature, is given in large measure to that: to show us how to live. And as we’ve seen in Proverbs, there are many different aspects to righteous living, godly living, wise living—pick your adjective. There are many aspects to wise living that we have to be careful to follow. And today we pick up one more of those, and that is this matter of our anger and the temper.

So the title of the message this morning is “The Fool and His Temper.” We have a business meeting after the service today, and given the way many churches’ business meetings have gone, maybe it’s a token of the Lord’s good providence that today we have a study of the temper. But here we are, Proverbs chapter 14, verse 17: “A man of quick temper acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.” Or as some of you that have the NIV, it reads, “A quick-tempered person does foolish things. One who devises evil schemes is hated.”

Let’s bow together for prayer. Our Father, we are so self-centered. We tend to be so selfish and so insistent on our own rights that we tend to have a quick temper and a short fuse. Father, may that never be characteristic of us. We pray that you would guide us through your word this morning to honor you in this way. In Jesus’ name we ask, amen.

Two Different Kinds of Anger

All right, again, verse 17: “A man of quick temper acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.” So we have here in this proverb a warning against anger, a warning about the results of anger and the consequences of it in relation to others. It should go without saying, of course, there is a kind of anger that is justified. We know of righteous indignation. This isn’t that. And I think we all know what it is; I don’t have to spend a lot of time on that. But this is anger and flying off the handle, the short fuse, protecting our own little ego for whatever reasons.

Now the anger in view here in verse 17 actually is two different kinds. In the first line of the proverb, we have someone with a quick temper. He’s explosive. And then in the second line of the proverb, we have the guy who doesn’t necessarily show his anger at the moment, but he gets revenge. “So a man of quick temper acts foolishly. A man of evil devices is hated.” So we have two men identified here. We have their distinguishing characteristics, and then we have what those around them feel about it and how they feel toward them because of it. And that’s where we’ll go this morning.

The Quick-Tempered Man

So the first man here is the quick-tempered man. A man with a quick temper acts foolishly. This is the guy who is soon angry. He flies off the handle, or as we say, he has a short fuse. Chapter 14 here in verse 29 refers to the same person as a person with a hasty spirit. A short fuse. His actions when he’s rubbed the wrong way are not premeditated. He doesn’t sit and think about how he’s going to react. He just reacts. And he reacts in a foolish way, and he reacts in a somewhat violent way. He blows up. He’s rubbed wrong, and immediately you know it. He’s got a quick temper. We all know the kind.

And the Proverbs says, “A man of quick temper acts foolishly.” Now remember that the foolishness in Proverbs has both an intellectual and a moral aspect to it. That is, the fool lacks sense because he does things that are not in his own best interest, and he does things that are morally wrong. So this quick-tempered man acts foolishly. He does foolish things. He does things, flying off the handle, that are both morally wrong and not in his own best interests. He’s a fool. So by his quick temper, he does things that are both senseless and morally wrong. He explodes. He doesn’t think about it ahead of time. He’s just there in the moment, and he blows up.

So what he’s telling us here in that first line is if you don’t control your temper, you’ll act like a fool and you’ll do things that you regret. Well, we’ve all been there. If you’d like a similar verse, just look back a page to chapter 12, verse 16: “The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.” So a fool is rubbed the wrong way, it doesn’t take any time at all, immediately you know it. But the man who is wise just ignores this insult and lets it slide. Back to chapter 14 verse 17 here again then, what’s the reaction of others toward this person with a quick temper? Well, it doesn’t state it here explicitly, but it is implicit. A man of quick temper acts foolishly or does foolish things. Is that someone you want to be around? Is that someone you enjoy being with? He acts foolishly. So the first man is a quick-tempered man. He behaves like a fool. He’s unpleasant to be with.

The Man of Evil Devices

Now the second line, the second man: he’s the man of evil devices or the man who devises evil, the crafty man. He has purposes in mind. He’s rubbed just like the other guy was rubbed, and he doesn’t like it like the other guy doesn’t like it, but you don’t know it yet. And he plots. It’s the guy that, as we say, doesn’t get mad—he gets even. That’s the guy here. Rather than being explosively violent, he calmly plans his revenge. “I’ll show him. I’ll get back. I’ll have my turn.” And so because he isn’t just explosive and unpremeditated in his actions, but premeditated in his actions and vengeful, the proverb says “a man of evil devices is hated.”

He’s more hateful because he’s not acting out of just weakness. He’s plotting revenge and he’s being evil. He’s willfully plotting a revenge against the person that rubbed him the wrong way. So we have here a comparison and a contrast: as the short-tempered man works foolishness and therefore is disliked, so also the man of devices, the man whose anger is more subtle, he’s hated for his folly also. But with the second man, there’s a heightened sense of hatefulness. The one, it’s a weakness. This guy plots his revenge, and so is more despicable and more reprehensible.

So anger can show itself on the one hand by an uncontrolled spirit flying off the handle, exploding at the moment, or it can be a deliberate, more cunning kind of retaliation that gets back at the man later. Both are foolish, both are reprehensible, both are despised, both are condemned, even if the one is more hateful than the other. And in fact, neither of them is very well liked in the community around them. People hate them. That’s what it says. “A quick-tempered man acts foolishly.” Implicit then is he is not the kind of guy you want to be with. He acts like a fool. “And a man of evil devices is hated.” Who wants to be around an angry, much less a vengeful person? That’s the point of the proverb.

Proverbs has a lot to say about relationships with one another. This is massively important if we’re going to maintain relationships. Look over for some similar verses. Chapter 15 and verse 17: “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.” Better is a dinner of herbs. I can’t imagine much that’s better than a dinner of herbs. I mean, that’s worse. I mean, it’s just… the implication here is that nobody wants to be a vegetarian. That’s the idea here. We had a friend who we haven’t seen in years. He’s from out of the country. He was here a few months ago, just before the lockdown, and he was in the area, and we invited him over for lunch. I wrote to him ahead of time and said, “What would you like to eat? Anything in particular you want us to avoid? Kim wants to know.” He writes back and just puts down Proverbs 15, verse 17: “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.” I suppose here the idea primarily is the home. Better to be poor, have little to eat, than to have a rich, luscious dinner with hatred around the table.

Chapter 17, verse 1: “Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.” Well, I don’t want to be a vegetarian, I don’t want to be on a diet either, but that’s the idea in this verse. He has a dry morsel—that’s all he has to eat—but it’s better to be on strict rations if, with that, you have quietness in the house rather than have a big meal and fighting around the table.

Chapter 22, verses 24 and 25: “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.” All right, here, well, let’s read it again. “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.” So he’s telling us here that quick-tempered people don’t make for good companions. And not only are they unpleasant to be with, worse than that, I guess, is that you could end up acting like them and be a fool yourself. So you don’t want to hang around these kinds of people. That’s the counsel of Proverbs 22, verses 24 and 25.

So if you’re one of these kinds of people—flying off the handle, premeditated in your revenge, quick-tempered, whatever it is—if you’re one of these kinds of people, you’re not going to have very many friends. That’s the idea. But it’s particularly this back to chapter 14, verse 17: “the man of devices,” the man who plots the revenge, that’s particularly the man that he says is hated. “A man of quick temper acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated” because he’s more culpable; his actions are due not to a weakness, but to a premeditated willingness.

And so, if you’d like, look at chapter 24 and verse 8: “Whoever plans to do evil, he will be called a schemer.” That is, he’s disliked. He’s recognized as evil. He’ll be known as a wicked fool. Now, more serious than any of that—so far we’ve just said he acts like a fool and he’s not pleasant to be with, he’ll be hated—more serious than that, chapter 6 and verse 18 (verses 16 to 18, you remember, six things the Lord hates, seven is an abomination to him): one of those is a man that devises wicked plans. This is something God hates, not just the others around you. And if you like chapter 12 and verse 2: “A good man obtains favor from the Lord, but a man of evil devices he condemns.” God hates it, God condemns it.

So, all of that together, there is absolutely nothing rewarding about this sin. You make enemies, you destroy your own happiness, you incur God’s anger, and it results in condemnation. Nothing rewarding about this sin. Again, the counsel of the book of Proverbs is very personal, it’s very practical, and it’s in a twofold sense that I keep reminding you of. On the one hand, it tells you this is wrong behavior, this is right behavior. And on the other hand, he says, this isn’t good for you, it’s not in your best interest; this is. And so righteousness and wisdom are linked. Unrighteousness and foolishness are linked. It is not in your best interest to behave that way. So you may think at the moment, and you’re venting your anger, you may think that that’s going to make you feel better. But in the end, all we do is make ourselves miserable. We look like a fool. We end up with few friends, and we incur divine anger.

Related Proverbs

Let’s look at some related proverbs then on this subject. Chapter 15, verse 18: “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.” Let me read it again. “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife. But he who is slow to anger quiets contention.” The same point is made in both lines, but from contrasting standpoints. The hot-tempered man, he doesn’t help a thing. All he does is stir up more strife. But he who’s slow to anger, he quiets contention, calms the situation.

Chapter 19 and verse 19: “A man of great wrath will pay the penalty, for if you deliver him, you’ll only have to do it again.” The wrathful man, the man with the temper, he’s self-destructive. Chapter 25 and verse 28: “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” It’s interesting imagery here that he’s given. You have a quick temper, you’re like a city without walls. In the ancient worlds, walls were everything for a city. You’re just left open and vulnerable to anybody. You have to have walls. And what he’s saying here is if you’re a man with a quick temper, you’re like that. You’re self-destructive. You are your own greatest enemy. Or chapter 29, verse 22: “A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression.” That is, a hot-tempered man never helps anything. All he does is make the situation worse. “A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression.”

Let’s see some with a contrast in it. Chapter 14, back to chapter 14, verse 29: “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.” So in the first line here, we’ve got the man who’s calm, has a controlled spirit, and he commends that. He says that’s a mark of wisdom. A calm head—that shows you to be wise. The second line, he really offers the same kind of caution, but by contrast: “he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.” What an expression: “exalting folly.” That’s what you do with a hot temper. It’s a mark of a fool to have the hot temper. So how you respond when you’re rubbed, it says something about you. Are you wise or are you a fool? “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding. He who has a hasty temper exalts folly.”

Over a page or so to chapter 16, verse 32: “Whoever is slow to anger—I’ll wait for you to get there, 16:32—whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” Now the word that’s translated here, “the mighty”—”whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty”—that’s the typical word that’s used for a military hero. That’s what’s in view obviously in the second line as well, the one who takes a city. So you have this military hero in view, but the battle that’s in view is not the city. That’s just the contrast. That’s the emblem that’s being used. The battle that’s in view is a battle in the inner self. “Whoever’s slow to anger is better than the mighty. Whoever rules his spirit than he who takes the city.” So here’s the highest kind of strength. Taking a city, that’s child’s play compared to this. Controlling your own spirit and holding it in. Biting your tongue to hold your anger. That’s the mark of greatness.

Or chapter 19, verse 11: “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” Oh, we need to see this. “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” So on the first line here, we have deferred anger; that’s a mark of wisdom. “Good sense makes one slow to anger.” The second line then complements that, but it says it a little bit differently: “to overlook an offense.” That’s slow to anger—to overlook an offense, not get angry, not to hold a grudge, let it go. That is your glory. So rather than your shame to overlook it, it’s your glory. Well, the point in all of this in both lines is the wise man has a calm temper. He’s able to control himself. He can defer his anger. He can let it go. And when you quell your anger, you show yourself to be a wise person. Rather than get angry and look like a fool, you show yourself to be wise—just hold it in, keep it back.

So both deferring anger and overlooking the transgression, that’s a mark of wisdom. There’s a touch of irony in this proverb as well. “It is his glory to overlook an offense.” We typically think, don’t we, in the heat of the moment, “I’ve got to say this, because now if I can cut you down, I will stand taller and we’ll both know it. That will be my glory.” But no, it is his glory to overlook the offense and let it go.

And then of course the famous one in chapter 15 in verse 1: “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” So your outbursts, your quick temper, it may make you feel better at the moment, but you don’t accomplish a thing. All you do is make the situation worse. A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word just stirs up more anger. How many times we all could have learned from that? Chapter 15 again, verse 18: “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.” Again, a hot-tempered man never helps the situation. It only makes it worse. Proverbs chapter 25, verse 15: “With patience, a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.” That’s pretty graphic, but the point is pretty simple. Quelling your anger will prove to be more productive. Flying off at the handle isn’t going to help. It’s only going to hurt, but a soft tongue breaks a bone. Chapter 29, one more. Chapter 29, verse 11: “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” That is, it is a mark of wisdom to hold your tongue when you’ve been provoked. You don’t have to vent all that you’re feeling. Suck it in, count to ten, hold back, and be wise.

A New Testament Treatment

All right. That’s enough of the Proverbs on the temper. Let’s go to a New Testament treatment of it. Look at Colossians chapter 3. Right now I’m thinking about a man who, in the church years ago—in another church, in another congregation—he would say, “All right, you’ve quit preaching and gone to meddling.” That’s what this seems like, I think. But now, what does the New Testament have to say? Look at Colossians chapter 3. And I’m going to take the time to read the first 17 verses. Follow along carefully and notice the flow of thought, how he describes what our relationships ought to be and why they ought to be that way.

Beginning with verse 1, Colossians 3: “If you then have been raised with Christ, seek those things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, you will also appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these things, the wrath of God is coming. In these, you too once walked when you were living in them, but now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is no Greek and Jew, circumcised, uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all and in all. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other. As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony, and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Oh, there’s so much here, but notice for our purposes today, verses 12 and following. We have these characteristics of a Christian, and verse 12 describes it in terms of a new wardrobe. “Put on these things.” Here’s the new clothes you put on. “Put on then as chosen ones, holy and beloved: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience.” Verse 13, how are these characteristics to show themselves in our personal relationships? Well, it goes like this: “bearing with one another. If one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other. As the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.” So you bear with one another. You know, we do that when we love one another, don’t we? You put up with it because you love. And if someone has a complaint, you forgive. And notice the gospel standard to it: “Forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you, you also must forgive.” What kind of hypocrisy would it be for us to be unforgiving of one another when our whole identity is bound up with our going to God and asking for forgiveness for much greater offenses?

And so verse 14, the most important piece of clothing in this new wardrobe: “above all these, put on love.” Don’t you think a more deeply cultivated love would help quell the anger and soften the response? Why is love the most important? Verse 14 again: “above all these, put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” And then he gives one more exhortation, verse 15, the overruling consideration in our relationships with God is this: “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful.” The term used here, “let the peace of God rule in your heart,” the idea is ruling like an umpire. This is the determining factor in your relationship with one another. And here he’s speaking in terms of the church relationship. This is what guides you: the peace of Christ. To this you are called. You are called in one body, together in Christ, professing the same Lord, acknowledging the same salvation that you have together, rejoicing in the same destiny we’ll share together. That is establish a real peace in Christ. And he’s saying here, just live that out and let the peace of Christ be the guiding, the ruling consideration in your relationships with one another. So that, he says, is the goal of your calling. Verse 15.

Well, again, this is what Proverbs has commanded us as well: a transformed life to quell our anger, and as Paul says in Romans, as far as it is possible, live peaceably with all men. Take just a moment to look back in the chapter, Colossians chapter 3—just how are we to quell our tempers? If I’ve been rubbed the wrong way, how is it that I can hold it back? Verses 1 to 3 again: “If you’ve been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things on the earth.” Why? Because you’ve died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

So one, recognize who you are. I am in Christ. That means I have died with him in union with Christ. I’ve died. That old life is gone. I’ve been raised to a new life entirely. Number one, recognize who you are: dead and raised, new life. Number two, live up to that. Be who you are. Recognize that you’re one who’s died with Christ and has been raised with Christ in new life. Now set your affections accordingly and live accordingly. That’s verses 9 and 10. You’ve put off the old man. Notice the way he reasons: “Don’t lie to one another because—or seeing that—you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self.” Because that has happened, it ought to be evident in the way that you live. Aren’t we people who, in coming to Christ, having died with Christ and raised with Christ, aren’t we people who have put off the old self and put on the new? All he’s saying here then is, be who you are. Live up to your profession.

And that’s what verse 12 then is all about, putting on this new wardrobe. You’ve become something new in Christ, and so look like it. Put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. And don’t, by any means, ever say, “I couldn’t help it.” You can help it. You’ve put off the old self. You’ve put on the new. The old man has died. You’ve been raised to new life in Christ. He’s given you his Spirit to take control. And by the way, you know you can control it depending on the circumstances. I imagine if the preacher called, you’d be friendly. “Oh, hi.”

Paul’s whole point here is that you have been given every enablement in Christ to do what you are commanded to do. Biblical writers everywhere tell us that to be a Christian is more than to be forgiven. It is that, and it is that fundamentally. But it is more than that. It is to be a certain kind of person with certain identifying traits. And so he tells us we must do what is demanded of us in holding our tempers and being kind and patient with one another. We’re doing what is demanded of us. We are just living up to our profession in Christ and we are doing what we’ve been enabled to do through the provisions that God has given us in Christ. And so we defer the anger. And instead, we’re long-suffering, patient, we speak kindly, and we are controlled in the face of offense. And we do it for Christ, who has, thankfully, been much more patient with us than we are with one another. And we do this reflecting the God of the gospel, who thankfully has been very slow to anger with us. And we do this to display the gospel that we have embraced—that in Christ we are men and women made new. And it must be evident in the way we live. Amen.

Let’s bow together for prayer. Our Father, you know we need this. We need these reminders. We’re grateful that you have begun a good work in us. We pray that you would perfect that. And may it be evident in the way we live with one another in our families, in the way we live with one another in our church relationships, and in all our relationships, may we reflect the gospel that we profess. In Jesus’ name, amen.

But we’ll close with doxology together, and then we’ll have our business meeting, and I’ll let Pastor Greg officiate that. So let’s stand together and close by singing the doxology together. We’ll sing this a cappella.