Proverbs 18:2

Proverbs 18:2 A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart.

Have you ever heard anyone say that they just needed to vent? Sometimes when we've had a hard day or someone's offended us or done something unexpected, and then we get upset, we have a tendency to let out our feelings either to the offending party or, as is more often the case, to someone else.

There was a man in traffic that was late for work and there was a slow old man driving in front of him. He honked and tailgated until finally, the car in front of him came to a complete stop. Frustrated and angry, the man got out of his car and when to the old man's window. He was ready to chew out the man and tell him all the reasons why he should never be allowed on the road. However, as he looked in the window he could see the old man, head hung low, sobbing. He was caught offguard and wondered what was happening. "Has he lost his marbles all together?" Then he tapped gently on the window and the old man looked up with red eyes, tears on his face and slowing rolled down the window. Curious and feeling a little convicted about his own impatience, he asked the man what was wrong. The old man looked at him and replied that the love of his life, his best friend and wife, had just died in his arms at the hospital and he had to go home to tell the family and make arrangements. Expressing his condolences and giving an apology he made his way back to his car with a new perspective.

How many times do we act like a complete fool, without any desire to know the truth of a situation or to know what another person is going through, or to not have a care about problems or pressures or the background of another person and yet we're ready to fully express our own feelings about them or what they've done?

The Lord said that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love others. It is not love to let our frustrations out on another person. It's sin when we speak in a way that is not edifying to someone. As James 3 says, people are created in the image of God and we need to treat them like it. Also, most of the time, when we are busy expressing our own heart we are either judging someone's actions (without knowledge - Romans 2), or we're gossiping and spreading someone's problems to someone else. These are obviously not pleasing to the Father.

When we speak, we as believers, represent our Father. When we vent our feelings and speak rashly in arrogance and pride, in an unloving way, we misrepresent our Father's wonderful love and patience and grace and mercy.

Yes God is just, be we are not God. Only God knows what's in a person's heart. Even Jesus said that He didn't come to judge but to save the world (John 12:47). The Father will judge in the end (according to the Word of God) and we have no right to do so. Why? Because we are also sinners saved by grace and in need of forgiveness. Our sin is the same as everyone else's sin and we have no right to lift ourselves over another. That is to be in the place of God and God will not allow it for long, He is jealous God and intervene if you act innappropriately in His place.

This is the same reason why the Jewish High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies once a year (Exo 29:30) with a rope around his foot. If he sinned in the presence of God, he would drop dead and they would have to pull him out. God will not be mocked. (Gal 6:7)

This is the same reason why Moses, when he struck the rock in anger to provide water to the complaining Israelites, was not allowed to go into the promised land (Num 20:7-12). He misrepresented God and made the people feel like God was angry and frustrated with them. In fact God was loving them in His perfect patience and He knew exactly what they would do before they did it. God cannot get frustrated, He knows all things. Frustration is sin and God cannot sin.

So we can act like a fool, and "express ourselves." Or, we can act with wisdom and seek understanding of the person, the situation, and God's desire for us in the moment. God has asked us to put aside our natural tendencies since all they do is bring death.

Romans 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.

Romans 8:13-14 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

If we are son's of God, let us be led by His Spirit and speak in a way that would please and honor what He has done for us!