There are very few things in life that can be more comical than someone who is not demonstrating good, common sense. I used to love watching a show that was called “America’s Dumbest Criminals” I’m not sure if that show is even still airing. I loved watching it on a weekly basis just to get a good laugh. I will NEVER forget a conversation between a drunk driver and a police officer I watched on one episode.

Officer: Sir, have you been drinking this evening?

Drunk Driver: No sir! I most certainly have not been!

Officer: Sir, I’m going to need you to step out of the car for me.

Drunk Driver: Why’s that?

Officer: I am going to give you a field sobriety test.

Drunk Driver: ok (he pulls a 6 pack of beer out of his car, places it on the hood and begins to drink in front of the officer.)

Officer: What are you doing? I just told you I was going to give you a sobriety test!

Drunk Driver: I know! I also know that I have always done better on tests when I have had a little something to drink!

Officer: You are under arrest.

 

As you can imagine, all who watched this episode laughed hysterically. Not because drunkenness is funny (it is not, it is sinful) but the lack of common sense really was astounding!

Scripture deals with the idea of “good sense” in Proverbs 19:11- Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense

Let us look at both parts of what scripture has to teach us in this one verse.

 

1. Good sense makes one slow to anger.

Do you know someone who gets angry very quickly? You know what kind of person i’m talking about.

• It is the person who is impatient when there order doesn’t arrive at their table in the time that they expected.
• The person who is yelling and honking on the highway
• The person who seems to be constantly raising their voice for even the smallest of issues
• The person who gets too angry with their toddler for acting like, a toddler
• The person who doesn’t like the preacher because of his sermon over sin
• The person who doesn’t like their parents because of their strict rules
• The person who makes their family “walk on egg shells” as they are living in fear of when he or she might “go off” again.

I’m sure most of us know someone that fits in one of these categories. Of course, none of us have ever, ourselves fit that bill… right?

How tempting it is for us to allow anger to get the better of us. Some are addicted to the sense of power they feel when they aggressively bark back at people. Those same people cant seem to realize how far away they are from Jesus.

“Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. Acts 8:32 (ESV)

 

  2. It is his glory to overlook an offense

Has it ever bothered you that when we do something wrong we immediately are hoping for mercy, yet when we witness a wrong being done we cry out for justice? It is not a new problem. I would like to call your mind to 2 Samuel 12.

Following the sin with Bathsheba, David is confronted by Nathan. Nathan describes a scenario for David. In this scenario Nathan describes an evil thing that a man had done (not as evil as what David himself had done) and when David heard this story he was enraged. He told Nathan that this man deserved to die! Then Nathan informed him that David was THAT man. OUCH!

Many times our sin blinds us from seeing flaws and faults withing our own life. As a result, we are much harder on those around us. Let us look at what this proverb says again:

Proverbs 19:11- Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense

While referring to “good” sense, we are told that good sense glories in overlooking an offense.

When we overlook an offense we:

• Remind ourselves that we aren’t perfect, and that we too are in need of mercy.
• Allow ourselves to be forgiven (Matthew 6:12)
• Show the world around us a glimpse of the love of God.

This text says that “Good Sense” Makes you slow to anger, and overlook peoples shortcomings.

 

Do you have good sense?