“A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.” — Proverbs 21:14 NIV
What would you do if your mom angers you, so you go out? Later, you come home only to see her prepare your favourite food served on a unique table for you with a note of apology. You may cry upon reading the letter and eating the food. Why? Because her response to your anger settles the dispute in secrecy with you. That is an expression of love.
In Luke 17:1, Jesus warned us that offences amongst ourselves are inevitable to happen, even in the church. As long as we’re humans and not perfect as the Father is, there’ll be faults here and there. However, our response to them matters very much because it determines whether we would settle issues amicably in the shortest possible time or it’ll be a prolonged quarrel.
In the first part of Proverbs 21:14, God, through Solomon, says, “a gift given in secret soothes anger …”. That means one of the ways to appease someone’s heart after grieving him is to give the person a gift secretly. It can be a private phone call, text message expressing an apology or a short note. Whatever it is, your goal should be keeping destiny relationships intact no matter what.
Don’t allow the enemy to sow seeds of discord between you and those you love, especially the brethren in Christ. You cannot please everybody, but you can always be conscious of doing what’s right before everyone by the grace of God.
You’re a blessing.
Prayer
Father, grant me the tenacity to build and maintain destiny relationships. Let no dispute between me and anyone prosper in the name of Jesus, as You empower me to live in peace with everyone. In the name of Jesus. Amen!
Devotional Code: KGD – 2023 – 149
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