Sibling Rivalry

Thought: A man is never in worse company than when he flies into a rage and is beside himself.

Bible text: A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated. (Proverbs 14:17 NIV).

A little girl was once in a very bad mood. She took her frustration out on her younger brother, at first just teasing him, but eventually, punching him, pulling his hair, and kicking him in the shins. The boy could take it all - and even dish back a few blows - until the kicking began. That hurt! And he went crying to his mother, complaining about what his sister had done.

The mother came to the little girl and said, "Mary, why have you let Satan put it into your heart to pull your brother's hair and kick his shins?"

The little girl thought it over for a moment and then answered, "Well, Mother, maybe Satan did put it into my heart to pull Tommy's hair... but kicking his shins was my own idea."

All the evil in the world doesn't come from direct satanic involvement. Much of it comes from the heart of man. What we do with our anger, feelings of hatred, and frustrations is subject to our will. We can choose how we will respond to stress, or to the behaviour of others. Our challenge is to govern our emotions; otherwise, they will rule in tyranny over us.