Love Is Not Provoked
by Micky Galloway
I Corinthians 13:4-8, “Love suffereth long, (and) is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth.”
As Paul continues to discuss the attributes of love, agape, a love that seeks the welfare or best interest of the one we choose to direct our love towards, he says, “love … is not provoked,” i.e. not likely to take offense readily, not easily excited to anger. The word “provoked” is from paroxúnœ and means “to sharpen, incite, irritate. To sharpen or whet … Metaphorically, to sharpen the mind, temper, or courage of someone, to incite, to impel. In the NT, it means to provoke or rouse to anger or indignation” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary). In short, this characteristic of love means one is not quick to get angry.
Proverbs and Ecclesiastes have a lot to say about anger. Proverbs 14:17, “He that is soon angry will deal foolishly; And a man of wicked devices is hated.” Proverbs 16:32, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; And he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.” Proverbs 19:11, “The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger; And it is his glory to pass over a transgression.” Proverbs 22:24, “Make no friendship with a man that is given to anger; And with a wrathful man thou shalt not go.” Proverbs 29:11, “A fool uttereth all his anger; But a wise man keepeth it back and stilleth it.” Proverbs 29:22, “An angry man stirreth up strife, And a wrathful man aboundeth in transgression.” Psalms 37:8 sums it up, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Fret not thyself, (it tendeth) only to evil-doing.” Anger’s emotion easily clouds the judgment.
It ignores truth. It becomes easy to over step the bounds of right. In Cain’s anger, he refused to listen, even to God. God said, “If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door: and unto thee shall be its desire, but do thou rule over it. And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him” (Genesis 4:7-8). He then lied to God, “And Jehovah said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9).
Unchecked it can make us want to kill. Jesus taught in the sermon on the mount, “Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire” (Matthew 5:21-22). Saul in anger sought the life of David when the women said, “Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands” (I Samuel 18:7-9). Haman sought to kill all the Jews throughout the kingdom because Mordecai would not bow down to him. “When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai. Instead, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus – the people of Mordecai” (Esther 3:6 NKJV).
How do you behave when you are angry? Do you throw a tantrum, scream and holler? Do you stomp and kick? Do you throw things and slam doors? Do you seeth and pout? Perhaps you do things you know will hurt, often for a lifetime. Love does not behave that way. The wise man controls his anger, the fool does not! Proverbs 16:32, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; And he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.” Proverbs 14:29, “He that is slow to anger is of great understanding; But he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.” Proverbs 19:11, “The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger; And it is his glory to pass over a transgression.” Proverbs 15:18, “A wrathful man stirreth up contention; But he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.” Note: Ecclesiastes 7:9, “Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.”
What do you say when you are angry? Do you say insulting, hurtful things? “There is that speaketh rashly like the piercings of a sword” (Proverbs 12:18). “An ungodly man digs up evil, and it is on his lips like a burning fire. A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends” ( Proverbs 16:27-28 KJV). Do you curse? “Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain, for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). “Bring forth him that cursed without the camp … and let all the congregation stone him” (Leviticus 24:14). The apostle Paul added, “Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying as the need may be that it may give grace to them that hear” (Ephesians 4:29). Do you argue? Usually, we can avoid contention by properly controlling our tongues. “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but a grievous word stirreth up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). The tongue is a useful and beautiful gift, but we must learn to control it. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in network of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).
Some say we should let off the steam. One lady told a preacher that she had a bad temper, but that it was over in a minute. “So is a shotgun blast, but it blows everything to pieces,” was the preacher’s reply (Source unknown). Though righteous anger may occasionally be right, such unrestrained behavior is never right. It is sinful! The wise man said, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret – it only causes harm” (Psalms 37:8 NKJV). The inspired writer said, “Love is not provoked.” A consciousness of the presence of God will do much to cultivate this characteristic.