For Anger Resides in the Lap of Fools
"Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger
resides in the lap of fools." - Ecclesiastes 7:9
In the 1975 Masters Tennis Tournament in Stockholm, Sweden,
tennis star Arthur Ashe ahead 4-1 in the third and decisive
set of their round-robin match with Romanian-born Ilie
Nastase, sometimes dubbed "Nasty" Nastase for his flamboyant
on-court antics.
Behind in the match, Nastase went into his act again, stalling and arguing, cursing, taunting, and acting like a madman. Finally, Arthur Ashe put down his racket and walked off the court, saying, "I've had enough. I'm at the point where I'm afraid I'll lose control."
"But Arthur," cried the umpire, "You'll default the match."
"I don't care," replied Ashe, "I'd rather lose that than my self-respect."
Agreeing that Nastase's unruly behavior had unfairly
interrupted the match and driven Ashe to the sidelines,
referee Horst Klosterkemper came up with a solution to the
fiasco. He announced that Nastase was disqualified. He
refused to condone Nastase's bullying tactics and he
insisted that Nastase default the match for his unsportsman-like
conduct. Arthur Ashe won both in the game of tennis--and in
the game of life.
Do you control your anger or does your anger control you?
Today in prayer, give any problem of anger to the Lord and
ask for His Spirit to control you.
"He that would be angry and not sin, must be angry at
nothing but sin." - William Secker
God's Word: "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise
man keeps himself under control." - Proverbs 29:11
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2003, Devotional E-Mail
DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIATES AND SONG OF SOLOMON
pkennedy@devotional.com