‘Blow on it’

I was a venturous kid, and bore the cuts and scars to prove it. I always dreaded the treatment of even the smallest slash. Mother doused it with alcohol, or some other germ-killer and the wound would burn as if touched by a hot coal. “Blow on it!” I would shout. I needed immediate “coolness.”

Nowadays, “cool” is not only quantitative temperature, but qualitative condition. “Cool” people are sophisticates. A “cool” car is, in the jargon of the past, snazzy. In Solomon’s time, a cool-spirited person had dignity, quiet calmness when others were spewing mindless chatter. In the 21st century, society includes “the chattering class,” comprised of “talking heads” who keep the cultural atmosphere hot with their wordy froth.

The cool-spirited person isn’t a block of ice, but has firmness when others gush. Their discrete hearts know when to shut up. When the air is hot with verbal fire, cool-spirited people “blow on it,” and bring calmness.

TODAY’S FOCUS
Pray for the wisdom to know when to keep your mouth shut and the self-control to do it.