Wednesday, February 5, 2020

The Old Man's Children: Impatience, Provocation, and Vengeance

BLJ: Impatience, provocation and vengeance are carnal traits. If you want to get even with some one, you are carnal. If you are impatient, you are carnal. If you like to provoke people, you are carnal. This message needs to be preached from our pulpits along with the cure: holiness!

THE OLD MAN'S CHILDREN --THE TRIPLETS

In our study of the Old Man's children, let us now have the pleasure (?) of meeting Miss Impatience, Mr. Provocation, and Mr. Vengeance. These three children are robust members of this carnal family. You are so well acquainted with them that you will need no introduction. However, let us study some of their most prominent characteristics.

Miss Impatience is noted for her murmuring and fretful spirit, her lack of meekness, long-suffering, gentleness and submission. She is short on forbearance with others. It is hard for her to suffer long and be kind. Her calmness of spirit is disturbed in trials and tests. She is short-winded on endurance. She is not inclined to undergo persecutions with sweetness of spirit. Those who try her are liable to receive the benefit of her rasping tongue. The children in the home, the neighbors, or even the cats and dogs, etc., are not to be blamed for wishing that Miss Impatience would go to an old-fashioned camp meeting and die. What a blessing if she would only let God transform the wolf of impatience into the lamb of patience. Jesus has said: "In your patience possess ye your souls." How important, therefore, that Miss Impatience be electrocuted, and Miss Patience be brought to life.
Mr. Provocation, the second of the triplets, is noted for his resentment, his anger, his irritating words and actions. He is quick to take affronts, is easily insulted, is touchy. If not handled with due consideration, he goes up the miff tree. When pouting, he often becomes very aggravating right in the midst of church work. It is sad to see him have his spells right in the home, or prayer meeting, or board meeting, or camp meeting, etc. In having his spells, he may either give way to bitterness, sarcasm and insolence, or he may grow sullen, grouchy or stubbornly silent -- reminding one of an old balking mule -- or on the other hand he may be puffed up, swelling out with importance, and strut around with self-important airs.

His name must head the list. He must be asked to play or sing or preach or have the most important place or position. You will find him in nearly every home, and church, and camp meeting, and assembly. Woe to those who do not handle Mr. Provocation with the proper gloves of honor and dignity. It is hard for him to take reproof even when given kindly. He must be given the best bed, the best food, the easiest and cleanest work. He must never be slighted, or crossed in his plans, or asked to do anything beneath his dignity. To find out more about this son of the Old Man turn to the list of things that revealed Mr. Anger in a former .

The last of these triplets is Mr. Vengeance. He is certainly a hale and hearty son of Mr. Old Man. Under provocation his heart is inflamed with a desire for retaliation. He gets this passion of heart, this sinful inflammation, from his father. He has a strong inclination to get even with others. When his heart is inflamed with this desire, he is liable to go to any lengths to satisfy his provoked heart. Some have wrecked property, or killed their neighbor's stock. Others have robbed people of their good reputation, have spitefully planned to wreck lives and homes and even churches. Others have gone to the diabolical extreme of taking life, have committed the most atrocious murders. Only the eradication of inbred sin can fully remove this condition from the human heart.

No comments:

Post a Comment