Quote from Forum Archives on November 9, 2003, 11:13 pm

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

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The Burning Bush Devotional

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11.10.03

Over Reacting

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies,
outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders,
drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just
as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will
not inherit the kingdom of God. - Galatians 5:19-21.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the
day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil
speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. -
Ephesians 4:30-32.

Devikia Garnett may have over reacted after she received a speeding ticket.
Officer Chip Raines gave her a ticket for going 51 mph in a 35 mph zone and
after Devikia was stopped, she did accept and then signed the ticket.
Officer Raines got back into his vehicle and continued his shift. He had
gone only a short distance when he noticed Garnett’s Mazda rapidly
approaching from the rear and before he could react, she rammed into the
police cruiser. Garnett then rear-ended the cruiser three more times but she
wasn’t through. She tried to ram Raines again but she missed after he pulled
to the side. She then turned around and attempted to ram the cruiser head on
but Raines was able to hit her vehicle from the side pinning it to the curb.

Police spokesman Jimmie Wideman said that Raines, “…should be commended on
his restraint, because it could have come out a very different way." In
reference to Garnett, Wideman said, "She turned a traffic summons into a
felony charge." Garnett’s car was impounded and she is being held in a
Hampton, Virginia jail without bond for felonious assault of a police
officer. There was no indication of any drug or alcohol use by Garnett.

It appears that Devikia Garnett over reacted to her traffic ticket - and
that is an understatement. In Galatians, the apostle Paul warns against
“outbursts of wrath.” Devikia definitely had an outburst of wrath and the
result was the ruination of her life. She most likely will be convicted of a
felony charge along with having to pay substantial court costs and fines.
She damaged her car and will be unable to work while she is incarcerated. Of
course, it may be very difficult for her to find employment after her
release. Who would want to risk hiring someone who is prone to “outbursts of
wrath?”

I’m sure Devikia did not start her day thinking that she was going to try to
kill a police officer by repeatedly ramming her car into his. What led up to
this horrible over reaction by Devikia? What made her cross over the line
from sane responsible citizen to maniac? We will probably never know and
Devikia is probably not sure about the answer to those questions herself.

If we allow the works of the flesh to direct our lives, we run the risk that
at some point we will lose control and our lives will be destroyed. Devikia
is an example of this very thing. If we allow our flesh to express itself
through rage - time after time we will find that at some point we will cross
the line into craziness just as Devikia did.

Put the works of the flesh away from you and instead have kindness,
tenderness, and forgiveness toward others. Ask God to take away the works of
the flesh and replace them with the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5). Then,
you will not have to worry about over reacting and see your life destroyed
as a result.

Copyright © 2003. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited.

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