“Love…is not provoked” (NKJV 1 Corinthians 13:5b)… "Love is not easily angered.” (NIV).
Any three stooges fans in the crowd today? “Why I oughta!” was an oft-spoken phrase heard amongst the three quarrelling comedians — a threat of violence against whoever had made them angry.
Truth be told, we all feel a little ‘stoogey’ sometimes. Maybe someone cuts us off, flips us off, mistreats our kids, belittles us, steals from us, betrays us, etc.; but the Bible tells us that love is not easily provoked to anger.
So how can we respond in love to someone who has wronged us? Well, this verse tells us how NOT to respond — we should not allow ourselves to be provoked to anger as a response. You may be thinking, ‘but isn’t there righteous anger?’ Yes, but righteous anger is when you are mad because GOD has been wronged…not when you are mad because you have been wronged.
I think Stephen, the first martyr, illustrates the practical application of this verse very well. In Acts 6, he is falsely accused of speaking against God. He does not shake his fist at the lying witnesses against him and say, “why I oughta!” No, he doesn’t defend himself at all. He ...
