Proverbs 19:11 - Ignoring Harmonia axyridis

It wasn't bad enough to be considered a plague, but it was certainly annoying.

Harmonia axyridis*--Asian beetles--were invading our home. Our house was built in 1914, and one hundred years later, the beetles seemed to be crawling through every possible gap in our old storm windows. They occasionally bite and give off a foul odor if you try to remove them. I tried ignoring them, but then I'd hear them buzzing around, hitting light fixtures. Or they'd land on my book, my computer, even my food. But what bugged me (pun intended) was that they were unwelcome and uninvited.

Two or three moth balls between each window and its corresponding storm window, that would slow down the traffic of Asian beetles coming into the house, right?

No. It did nothing to keep the beetles away. It did stink up the house. My solution was overkill, inspired by my immense irritation. Then I had to remove mothballs from twenty-two windows.

Sometimes I do the same thing in reacting to people. A reactionary solution ends up creating more "stink" than the original irritant. And it's not worth it. 

"A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense." (Proverbs 19:11, New International Version)

The New Living Translation puts it this way: "Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs."

Sometimes, we need to confront a serious situation. But how many times do we needlessly spread mothballs?

God, Give me patience that is quick to listen, slow to speak. Because my reacting to irritations isn't going to produce Your goodness (James 1:19)... and that's what I want my life to reflect. In Jesus' name, Amen.

* Photo credit: Harmonia axyridis, taken in Hartelholz, Múnich, Germany by Diego Delso (Wikimedia)
"Harmonia" was the Greek goddess "of harmony and concord." So what's the connection??