“He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly” (Proverbs 14:29).
To be short-tempered and impulsive is to be foolish. You are Satan’s prized pupil. Sacred and secular history uniformly chronicle the utter folly of being rash.
Moses was short-tempered in Kadesh (Num. 20:1) and spoke rashly to God’s people (Ps. 106:33); he rebelled against God’s command (Num. 27:14) by striking the rock for water, instead of speaking to it as he was instructed (Num. 20:8-11). He forever lost his inheritance in the Promised Land (Num. 20:12; Deut. 34:4-5).
The patriarch Esau traded away his birthright in a moment of foolish impulsiveness (Gen. 25:29-34). The Israelite judge Jephthah made a rash vow to Jehovah (Judg. 11:30-31) and lost his only child—a daughter, because of it (Judg. 11:34-40). The Syrian general Naaman almost died a leper, because he was a hothead who initially refused to obey the simple instructions given to him by Elisha’s servant (2 Kings 5:10-12).
When lit, the short fuse of impulsiveness does not bombard your life with divine blessings. Therefore, it is he who is quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19) who is wise and not self-destructive.
It is never wise to play with matches, especially if you have a short fuse.
