“A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult” (Proverbs 12:16).

A couple of years ago, I had the experience of driving on a New Jersey turnpike. Let’s just say that those folks need a few of those “Drive Friendly” signs you see in Texas.

Because I was unsure of the exit I needed (It couldn’t have been my poor driving, right?), I inconvenienced several good New Jersey drivers (or were they New Yorkers on their way back home?).

The point of which is to say that I received a number of exhortations and encouragements from my fellow highway users. Some rolled their windows down to make polite inquiries about my ancestry; others used, well, some form of sign language.

Life is tough, and being insulted is probably inevitable. Being a church leader seems to place an automatic target on the back of one’s shirt. We’re fair game for disgruntled members, the immature, atheists and pagans alike!

The question is, have you been a “fool” by the Proverbs’ definition? Some people’s temperament is tinder dry, ready to ignite indignantly at everything that happens. Like an anti-personnel mine, they are ready to blow up at the mere touch of a toe on the trigger.

Don’t assume that everything you hear is an insult, and even if it is, ask yourself if showing your annoyance is prudent. Solomon says that the “wise” person “overlooks an insult.”

Sometimes the best advice when insulted is to simply walk away.

by Stan Mitchell @ www.forthright.net