Proverbs 17:27-28. 27Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. 28Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
Do you remember that song from West Side Story, Cool?
Boy, boy, crazy boy
Get cool, boy
Got a rocket in your pocket?
Keep coolly cool, boy
Well, that’s basically what this Proverb is telling us. Calm down. Stay cool. Think before you speak and act. Let your spirit cool down. Don’t run off impulsively into the fray.
Do you have a cool spirit?
We live in a culture of hot temperedness. Of vitriolic anger and argument. We care way more about stating our case and making our point than we do about trying to understand another’s point of view. But God says that this makes you a fool. In fact, even a fool is considered wise when he keeps his mouth shut and listens to others instead.
The cool person has understanding. Or we might say it backwards like this: When you understand God and others you are able to stay cool. Understanding, knowledge, wisdom, the fear of the Lord, these give us a cool spirit of self-control. The cool spirit then is able to restrain the lips, keeping our words in check.
Each time Jesus was challenged by others, especially the religious elite of his day, he remained cool in spirit. He listened to their challenges and riddles, each one an attempt to make him lose his cool and lose his honor, and he calmly and clearly showed his superior understanding. Not just in what he said, but in how he said it. Even at his mockery of a trial, Jesus kept a cool spirit. He calmly and quietly received both verbal and physical abuse. They thought he was a fool, but his silence revealed him to be much more.
And on the cross? Did Jesus remain cool? He did not rail against his torturers as the other criminals did. He did not curse God and die. His every word was calculated, controlled, and full of his commitment to his Father and his God. Out of his mouth came forgiveness and faith. Even his cry of dereliction, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” was a faith filled complaint, not from a soul out of control, but from scripture itself.
How did Jesus stay cool? The same way you and I will. By our knowledge of God. By our knowledge of his love for us, his faithfulness to us, and his grace in us. Jesus was cool in life’s hardest moments because he understood God’s will for him. Do you?
The more we understand what we have in Christ, everything we need for divine participation, and the more we understand what we will never lose, God’s covenant love and salvation, the more we will stay cool in spirit.
You: Are you cool spirited?
You in Christ: How does understanding our future salvation allow us to stay cool in spirit in the moment?
Christ in you: Where do you tend to lose your cool? How can Jesus in you help?
Pray: Father, help me to understand all that I have in Christ so that I can stay cool, calm, and quiet in the fray. Amen.
To Live is Christ 