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Do you know someone with a bad temper? Bad tempers come in different types. One type is holding grudges. Another is the short fuse. Quick-tempered people snap. They go from quiet to mad as fast as a spark lights a blow torch. The slightest provocation and they roar with anger.  Many celebrities have reputations for quick tempers. Alec Baldwin, Mel Gibson and Charlie Sheen are some. Adam Sandler is another. And Sandler knows it. He thinks he’s calmer now. Recently Sandler said, “I used to go nuts. I had a quick temper, quick reactions. I made a lot of dumb mistakes and said a lot of stupid things. Looking back on relationships . . . I was selfish. I was competitive with other comedians and stuff.”*

Did you notice he understands how destructive a quick temper is to relationships? It destroys trust. That’s why the description of love in I Corinthians 13:5 says, “It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (NIV)

If you ask most of us if we are loving, we’d say “yes.” I can’t imagine anyone saying they aren’t loving. But maybe we should check whether we are loving with other questions. Such as, how short is your fuse? When was the last time you lost your temper? In order to love other, slow your anger to a snail-like pace.

*Benjamin VanHoose, “Adam Sandler Admits He Was ‘Selfish’ in Past Relationships: ‘I’m Calmer Than I Used to Be’,” People quoted by Yahoo! News, September 21, 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/adam-sandler-admits-selfish-past-135955006.html

How to leave a review: https://www.sparkingfaith.com/rate-and-review/

Visit Elmer Fuller’s author website at: https://www.elmerfuller.com/

Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:00 — 3.7MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

Have you ever lost your cell phone? Did you panic and pat your pockets or dig through your purse? When we loose something important like our phone or credit card, we search for it, don’t we. We retrace our steps, enlist others to help us and keep looking until we find it. The longer we look, the more our anxiety rises. That’s because what we seek is so important to us.

1 Corinthians 13:5 says this about love, “It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (NIV) Did you catch the second phrase? Love is not self-seeking. I find the word Paul used for seek interesting. It is the same word that describes our search for a lost phone or credit card. It is the same word Jesus used of the woman searching for a lost coin or the shepherd searching for a lost sheep. It is urgent and focused on what is highly valuable.

The phrase Paul used could be translated “does not seek himself.” It describes someone who thinks he or she is the most important. Someone who is intently focused on having their own way. Someone who is as focused on themselves as Jesus is focused on seeking the lost. Maybe that’s the best way to understand this description of love. Others are so important to us that we seek their interests and not our own.

How to leave a review: https://www.sparkingfaith.com/rate-and-review/

Visit Elmer Fuller’s author website at: https://www.elmerfuller.com/

Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.