Ecclesiastes 7:9
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.
New Living Translation
Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool.
Contemporary English Version
Only fools get angry quickly and hold a grudge.
Good News Translation
Keep your temper under control; it is foolish to harbor a grudge.
Solomon goes brutally straight to the point. Short temper, demonstration of anger is foolishness. What? Yes, it is foolishness. He ends the point there and moves on to another point. Deal with that truth behind short temper, it is foolishness. This is the truth behind a short temper!
This is a stand-alone piece of advice amongst others. Some texts are extended, elaborated counsel. But this text stands alone. It is like Solomon was writing then this point came to his mind and he didn’t want to forget it, so he fixed it right there. From an inspiration point of view, the Holy Spirit influenced Solomon just to drop this point right here. We cannot therefore ignore what Solomon placed here since he considered it too important to be placed elsewhere. We cannot ignore this text that inspiration influenced it to be right here. This text makes it simple and clear that the inability to handle anger is foolishness. This is the truth behind a short temper!
Other Bible paraphrases and translations as cited above, make the point even clearer than we thought it could be. Anger will label you a fool (NLT). Only fools, yes, only fools get angry quickly (CEV). When you get angry quickly, you can only be in the category of fools, you do not fit into any other category. Quick anger is reserved for fools. Since it is foolish to keep a grudge, keep your anger under control. It is foolish to get angry quickly. The Bible, not me, tells us it is nothing but foolishness to get angry quickly. This is the truth behind a short temper!
Psalms 14:1
The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
The Bible tells us that quick anger, short temper is the preserve of fools. Why fools? Who are fools? Fools believe there is no God or they live their lives as if there is no God though they claim they believe in God. You may claim to believe in God, but tour life is lived as if there is no God. It is foolish to believe that there is no God. It is foolish to live as if there is no God. That is foolishness.
Quick anger is blind to the fact that God revenges on our behalf. Quick anger is an attempt to self preserve or assert self, yet this is what God does for us. At the moment of quick anger, the thought of God intervening is lost to the person and by getting lost to the reality of God, the person is a fool. Anger is foolishness. This is the truth behind a short temper!
Quick anger is foolish because it reacts too fast and always regrets what they say or do. A short temper is always regrettable. Governments investigate even an obvious crime committed publicly because not all facts are obvious. Short temper doesn’t know that drawing conclusion quickly is foolish. You regret what you say and do in a short temper. This is the truth behind a short temper!
A father punishes his son in short temper after the son hands him a school report. The school report had failing grades. The father quickly concluded the son was wasting his money. After punishing the boy, he studies the report, only to discover it is his report the boy had stumbled upon and was giving it back. The Bible says a short temper is foolishness. This is the truth behind a short temper!
A daughter who has been coming home late comes home late again. The mother is fed up and in short, temper, beats the daughter senseless and she collapses and is rushed to the hospital. At the hospital, they discover more injuries than a beating could cause. On interrogation, the girl survived an accident that evening hence the lateness. The Bible is clear, short temper is foolish, whichever way you look at it. This is the truth behind a short temper!
Short temper doesn’t wait to listen and understand. A short temper is a result of rushing to conclusions. Short temper believes any rumor, gossip, and hearsay. Short temper will make permanent decisions based on unconfirmed reports or their own paranoia. Sometimes later, regret follows and the short-tempered person is exposed as foolish. This is the truth behind a short temper!
What short-tempered people do and say in their moment of anger, would significantly change if they delayed making a conclusion and if they listened a little bit more. That means they judge a book by its cover and quickly dismiss it, only to discover it’s the book they need. This is the truth behind a short temper!
Galatians 5:19-20
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
Short temper or fits of rage is driven by demonic forces residing in a person. Fits of rage or short temper is an act of the flesh. It is influenced by Satan in us. It is listed among other things we do when satan lives in us. Biblically speaking and before God, short-tempered people are in a bad league. If you are short-tempered, you are in the same category as sexually immoral people, idol worshippers, witches, haters, divisive people, jealousy people, etc. That is the league of short-tempered people. This is the truth behind a short temper!
Short temper, therefore, is not just a psychological, social, and foolish problem. A short temper is a sign of hypocrisy since you do not believe in God therefore you resort to an angry reaction. A short temper is a spiritual problem, it reveals that instead of the Holy Spirit guiding you, you are guided by demonic forces. While you need counseling, you also need deliverance. This is the truth behind a short temper!
A short temper is a reason why some drop out of school or resign from good jobs they need or even make loss bringing decisions in their businesses. A short temper is a reason some people quit going to church and are hell-bound. A short temper is a reason why some single people are aging without lasting partners. A short temper is a reason behind irreconcilable differences in marriage. A short temper is the one factor that compromises immunity and delays recovery from any disease.
A short temper is the one thing many who think they are good Christians have not overcome. They have overcome sexual temptations. They have overcome bad company. They have overcome alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse. They have overcome laziness in prayer and Bible study. They have overcome and are now vegetarians and dressed decently. But they are still short-tempered. Meaning they are still driven by satan. They just left one department of satan’s institute for another department in the same institute and they think that is spiritual progress. Isn’t that foolishness? This is the truth behind a short temper!
Dear God, deliver me from the clutches of a short temper. Set me free. Grant me wisdom to delay judgment and listen more. Save me from the consequences of a short temper. Short temper has no hold on me again, in Jesus’ name, Amen!
May God guide me to be slow to anger just as He is. Amen
Amen
Amen!
Thank you doc for this article. Very timely.🙏
Glory to God!
Amen.
Thank you very much pastor.
God bless you.
Hallelujah!
Massage is on point. May God grant me the spirit of patients.
May patience be all yours in Jesus’ name!
Amen 🙏
May God grant me wisdom to delay judgment and rather listen more.
May He save me from the consequences of a short temper.
May this be my testimony: “short temper has no hold on me again” in the Mighty Name of Jesus I pray and believe.
Thank you brother for sharing this and may God bless your new week- to His honour and glory I pray.
Hallelujah!
Thank you for the message
Glory to God!
Thanks very much pastor. God bless you and your family
Thank you and God’s blessings on you too!
May we all discern the foolishness of short temper. It is more than a physical trait that needs deliverance. I pray God that you may rid me of this foolishness.
Amen and Amen!
May God help me not to be quick tempered.
Amen
Amen
Amen
Very informative indeed.Thanks for your article
Hallelujah!
Thank you PR.Kasis for such a wonderful piece may we find deliverance from this malady…..
Amen!
Amen, may God help me to be slow in temper. Let me not to be seen as a fool because of being short tempered in Jesus Holy name Amen.
Amen!
Encouraging words
Amen