"Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame."
Proverbs 25:8
Apparently the first person to be arrested for speeding in the United Sates was a taxi driver named Jacob German. He worked for the Electric Vehicle Company operating an electric powered cab in New York City. On May 20, 1899, he was pulled over for driving 12 miles per hour in an 8 mile per hour zone. A policeman on a bicycle gave chase and took him to jail. According to most accounts German did not actually receive a ticket. The first speeding ticket wouldn’t be issued until 1904 when a man named Harry Myers was caught breaking the speed limit in Dayton, Ohio.
In his famous sermon Payday Someday Dr. R.G. Lee referenced Jehu who the Bible says “drove furiously” and said Jehu had many relatives on the roads of America. But the truth is that our passion for haste is hardly confined to the roadway. In fact, we live in a world that is obsessed with getting things done faster, with reaching goals sooner and with making better time—often without stopping to consider whether we are even going in the right direction.
Often this is true in our personal relationships with very destructive results. A small matter can quickly trigger a large dispute without regard to whether this is a fight worth having or not—or even considering the potential consequences that winning the fight might bring. Many relationships are destroyed because someone is simply too quick to fight. Someone once described a man as “Willing to fight at the drop of a hat…and willing to drop the hat if the other guy didn’t.” That’s not a good approach for a believer. Instead we should be “swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19).
Proverbs 25:8
Apparently the first person to be arrested for speeding in the United Sates was a taxi driver named Jacob German. He worked for the Electric Vehicle Company operating an electric powered cab in New York City. On May 20, 1899, he was pulled over for driving 12 miles per hour in an 8 mile per hour zone. A policeman on a bicycle gave chase and took him to jail. According to most accounts German did not actually receive a ticket. The first speeding ticket wouldn’t be issued until 1904 when a man named Harry Myers was caught breaking the speed limit in Dayton, Ohio.
In his famous sermon Payday Someday Dr. R.G. Lee referenced Jehu who the Bible says “drove furiously” and said Jehu had many relatives on the roads of America. But the truth is that our passion for haste is hardly confined to the roadway. In fact, we live in a world that is obsessed with getting things done faster, with reaching goals sooner and with making better time—often without stopping to consider whether we are even going in the right direction.
Often this is true in our personal relationships with very destructive results. A small matter can quickly trigger a large dispute without regard to whether this is a fight worth having or not—or even considering the potential consequences that winning the fight might bring. Many relationships are destroyed because someone is simply too quick to fight. Someone once described a man as “Willing to fight at the drop of a hat…and willing to drop the hat if the other guy didn’t.” That’s not a good approach for a believer. Instead we should be “swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19).
Today’s Precept:
If you are tempted to quarrel or fight, step back and carefully consider whether that is the right approach to take.
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