“The prudent ignores an insult.”

Proverbs 12:16

Fools have short fuses
They explode all too quickly;
the prudent quietly shrug off insults.

Proverbs 12:16 the message

A fool is quick-tempered,
A wise person stays calm when insulted.

A fool’s wrath is quickly and openly known,
but a prudent individual ignores an insult.

Proverbs 12:16 | AMP

So how do ignore an insult?

How do we respond to personal ridicule?

How do we react to a disparaging put down?

No, we don’t take it like a Stoic:

“I am a rock, I am an island.“

Yes we do respond like a believer:

we grow in Jesus through sneers of disdain

we let Christ live His life through us

“When reviled, we bless;

when persecuted, we endure;

when slandered, we entreat.”

2 Corinthians 4:12–13

We’re not much to look at.

We each have past failings, personal flaws and faults

We’ve all been surrounded and battered by troubles,

Don’t get demoralized;

Yes, it’s a quandary,

Yes, there’s always someone who’ll put us in a pickle

There’s problems and predicaments daily

And often we’re caught off guard

we’re not sure what to do,

but we know that God knows what to do;

Jesus has an ideal solution for every problem

We turn to Him.

We tell Him we’ve been spiritually terrorized,

We accept the fact that God hasn’t left our side;

We don’t deny that yes, we’ve been thrown down,

But we haven’t been totally broken.

What we are experiencing has already been felt by Jesus,

Christ endured trial and torture,

Christ endured mockery and murder;

The way Jesus responded is what he’ll do in us—

Jesus lives! Jesus lives in us and through us!

This isn’t an obstacle!

This is a miraculous opportunity!

The way we grow in Jesus is to let Him live through us

And that happens in the stress and pressure of agony

Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake,

This makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us.

While we’re going through the worst,

We’re opening our hearts door to Christ’s best!

2 Corinthians 4:7-15 personalized

This is how we grow in Jesus