Today, I taught at a church in Washington at a men’s event. It began with breakfast and ended with lunch, both of which were delicious, and I was in between. One of my messages was entitled “Getting Rid of Ten Dirty Habits.” One of the ten was anger, and I used a dozen verses from Proverbs to teach from; one of them was Proverbs 16:32: “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.” I zeroed in on the phrase in the verse, “he who rules his spirit.” That phrase describes a strong man, and it appeals to me. Another way I have said that phrase over the years is: “You don’t have to act the way you feel.” Much damage is done to relationships by emotionally driven conversations, better-called shouting matches, or, in our current cultural setting, “political debates.” We all get emotional from events, circumstances, and words, but the goal should not be to let our emotions control us but to rule our spirit or emotions. Strong people can do that. When Jesus spoke, the crowds marveled because He spoke as one with authority. That means that they listened and responded to His words. We can speak with authority if we talk with self-control, always speaking with the other person’s edification as our goal. I can’t think of an area of my life that I have blown it as much as here. It grieves me to remember some of those events, but I am determined that in the future, I will rule my spirit and always speak so as to give grace to those who hear.