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Strike While the Iron Is Cold
Strike While the Iron Is Cold
One of the most revered qualities a person can have seems to be the willingness to act on opportunities without hesitation. At its best, this describes the word decisiveness; at its worst, impulsiveness. You may have heard the common phrase, “strike while the iron is hot,” which implies that if you wait, you will miss out — the moment will pass. While we (and the Bible) can appreciate the initiative and boldness required to take advantage of the blessings God has put within ones reach, when it comes to dealing with conflict it may actually be better for us to wait and “strike while the iron is cold.”
This can happen in two ways. We can act preemptively and prevent a conflict from arising, or we can wait until things have cooled off and act after the fact. Either way, this gives us the tremendous advantage of being calm in our approach. Romans 12:18 says, “As much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Generally we apply this when conflict arises and think “What can I do in this situation to bring about peace?” With a little planning, or patience, or both, we can potentially avoid heated interactions when tempers flair.
Conflict is inevitable at times. After all, we are human, each of us have fallen short of God’s glory due to the effects of sin in our lives. That being the case, it becomes that much more important for us to exemplify on a regular basis qualities such as kindness, gentleness, love, appreciation, and thoughtfulness towards others. In doing so, we can greatly reduce the frequency and intensity of conflicts in our lives.
So when troubles arise, the challenge then becomes how we conduct ourselves during and after such an interaction. Your best bet: wait it out. Think things through, let tempers cool off and address the situation later — when the proverbial iron is cold.
