"Short Fuse"

When I was a young teenager my brother and I somehow “acquired” a large supply of firecrackers. It so happened that the farm we lived on also had a large supply of apple trees. So we began to think ...firecrackers …..apples….. firecrackers ….. apples ... hmmmm what could we do. (Devious minds were at work). We soon discovered that if you put a firecracker in an apple it makes a great little apple grenade. So we began to assemble an arsenal of loaded apples. Rotten apples worked especially well. How we enjoyed lobbing these “apple bombs” at the unsuspecting friends we had invited up for target practice. The looks on their faces when those apples exploded - “priceless”. As I said, devious minds were at work, but devious minds are not always the brightest minds on the planet. On one occasion I had lit the fuse on one of my apple bombs. I held it so it would burn a bit then then tossed it but nothing happened. I went and got it and discovered that it had burned down to the top of the firecracker and went out. It was still good it just needed to be relit. (caution genius at work) So I picked it up, got real close so I could see the fuse , lit the match, touched the fuse and “BOOM” right In my face. I suddenly began to have some empathy for my former friends. Fortunately God preserves the simple and I wasn’t hurt. But I got a new appreciation for the term “short fuse”. I realized that when someone is described as having a short fuse it’s not a good thing. It can get real messy.

Proverbs talks about the dangers of short fuses. Hot tempered short fused people have destroyed countless relationships, families, marriages, children and friends. We have all been on both ends of the short fuse. We have watched friends or a family member blow up in our face and we have blown up in their faces as well.

Proverbs 16:32 “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty,and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”

Slow to anger = long fuse. How do we do that? “He who rules his spirit …” Self control. The problem is that for short fused people everyone else rules their spirit. They become like the people they are around. He yelled at me, I yell back. People yank our chain and off we go. They control us. We need to learn to respond to people instead of just react to them. We need to be controlled by a power greater than ourselves. We need to be filled with the Spirit of God

Eph. 5:18. "....Be constantly be being filled with the Spirit"

Then we can do what Proverbs 15:1 tells us “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

A soft answer is a controlled answer. The air may be hot and the temperature is rising are you going to be controlled by the temperature (thermometer) or are you going to control the temperature (thermostat). A soft answer comes from someone with a long fuse, a Spirit controlled, long-suffering person. A harsh word stirs up anger and we all know that is true. When someone yells at me and I yell back things don’t calm down, they blow up. Who is ruling your spirit today? Who is in control of you? You will know as soon as your fuse is lit. How long did it take to blow up? Short fuse =self - Long fuse= the Spirit.

Here are some great verses to encourage you in this battle.

Gal 5:16- 23 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, a you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.