Is Jesus Telling You To Do This?

Matt. 26:51-52 - And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.  NASU 

• What Is Your Sword? 

What item do you pull out on those who may disagree with Jesus or you? Paul informs us there are some character traits that we practice and they really have no place in the life of a Christian.
 
In Gal 5:19-21- Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are:… strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions,… envying, drunkenness,… and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
 
Is Jesus telling us to put our sword of "strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, envying, drunkenness," away?  Jesus tells us if we don't put our sword away it will be the very thing that kills us. 

• Swords That Destroy 

How many relationships or partnerships do you know of that have been destroyed by a person's jealousy, or outbursts of anger, or disputes, or envying, or drunkenness?
 
Look at the person who hasn't properly dealt with bitterness from events that have happened to them in their life. They go around like a time bomb. They're constantly looking for someone to disagree with and unleash an explosion on them.
 
I am sure we probably would all like to relive a few life situations where we lost control. We blew it. We embarrassed ourselves and those around us.
 
If we could only get those hurtful words back in our mouth or as Jesus would say, "Put your sword back in its place".
 
Why does Jesus want us to put our sword back in its sheaf? Jesus tells us "for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword". He doesn't want us to die that way. 

• Sheaves That Save Lives 

Solomon shares with us some great lessons about controlling our behavior.

He says in Prov. 14:16-17 - A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless.  A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.
 
A wise man is cautious. He knows evil and turns around and goes the other way. A fool or in other words a man or woman who is not wise runs right into evil and will pay the price for being foolish. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
 
If you will keep your sword in your sheaf you will not be quick to lose your temper. Again, how many times have we regretted losing our tempers?
 
So the next time we want to get angry and lash out at someone let's say to ourselves you know this is probably a good time "to keep my sword in its sheaf".
 
No sense cutting off someone's ear when I am not being led by the spirit of God.
 
Think About These:
 
"Anger" is just one letter short of danger.
 
He who has a sharp tongue soon cuts his own throat.
 
People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word