What the Interruption Revealed
“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?”James 4:1 (KJV)
You are in the middle of something. Your child comes in wanting to show you a drawing, or ask a question, or just be near you. And you snap. A minute later the guilt lands. They only wanted you.
It is easy to blame the child for making us angry. But the child didn’t put the anger there. The interruption only uncovered what was already sitting in us: the hurry, the stress, the plan we didn’t want touched.
James asks the honest question: “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” The fight starts inside. Paul gives fathers a warning that applies to every parent: “provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
Next time you snap, don’t only apologize to your child, though you should. Ask God what the interruption showed you about your own heart.
Read it yourself
Read James 4:1–10. What does James say God gives to the humble?
What usually sits underneath your sharpest words at home: hurry, fear, pride, or something else?
Father, show me what’s really in my heart when I lose my temper. Make me gentle with the people you’ve given me. Amen.