Proverbs 19:19:
A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty;
if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.
“My husband is a hot-tempered man,” Rosie told me. “In a fit of rage, he broke my mother’s special vase.”
“What happened next?” I asked.
Rosie blushed as she talked about rushing to the store to find a vase just like the one her husband broke before her mother returned home.
I looked into her eyes and asked if she had covered for her husband in the past.
Rosie wouldn’t look at me. However, she admitted she had rescued her husband many times from the consequences of his behavior.
“Are you tired of rescuing your husband?”
As she rolled her eyes, Rosie said, “He hasn’t learned from his mistakes.”
I pointed out that he didn’t have to learn. With her around, he knew he wouldn’t face a penalty or consequence.
With a wrinkled brow, she asked if it was her fault he hadn’t changed.
“When people face the penalty of their behavior, that motivates them to change.”
She sat in silence for a moment or two. Then she said, “I’m tired of rescuing him over and over.” She crossed her arms and added, “I won’t do it again.”
Dear God, please help me let the hot-tempered person in my life face the penalty of his behavior. Amen.
Application: What will you do this week to avoid rescuing that hot-tempered person?