Don't Let Anger Get the Best of You

Jonah is an example of how the character of a good and a great man can be tarnished by anger, and his usefulness impaired. His story suggests the foolishness, the danger, and the injury of anger.

Unfortunately, when a man feels anger and gives unrestrained expression to it, as Jonah did, his fellowman is not as patient and long suffering as God was and does not always return the soft answer which God returned to the angry and disgruntled Jonah.

Anger is one of the most common sins, yet one of the most dangerous and detrimental to the peace and well-being of man. More than any other sin, it blasts the development of friendship, turns men out of Eden, destroys peace and harmony in the home, incites to crime and violence, and turns love and affection into hatred.

Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said, "Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy." With so many stipulations you can see why it this is so.

Yet, one can surely observe all of the anger in the world around us today. Why is this so? Why are there so many angry people? And. do they really know what they are angry about? Perhaps we're angry because we feel threatened.

As a matter of fact, a recent research paper even suggests that anger may actually increase your perception that the world is threatening. (Jolie Baumann and David DeSteno, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, October, 2010). This might explain all of the scowling faces I see when I'm out and about. But, what kinds of things make us feel so threatened?

Judging from various observations, things such as different racial or ethnic groups, workplace conditions/environment. the economy, geopolitics, personal relationships, and religious denominations/beliefs are a few that come to mind.

Curiously, the same researchers also hint that anger may influence your belief about how likely it is that things in the world are threatening. The idea is that if you think the world is more threatening, you might see more threats in your environment than there really are.

Anger has a nasty habit of throwing up a smoke screen that makes it difficult to view a clear picture of what truly is. When we are angry, we often act on the basis of our initial judgments. This creates the potential of turning out very bad, very quickly.

Of course, If you find yourself in a situation that is potentially dangerous, then you have no choice but to act on your initial impression. However, in most cases the situation is not a matter of life or death.

Therefore, the same research indicates that you should slow down and think when you're angry. Unfortunately, in too many situations this is not the route taken (Proverbs 14:29).

We've all been guilty of letting anger get the best of us. But, it is within the power of each and every one of us to control it (Proverbs 19:11). Like Jonah, we have the tendency to be angry when God is nothing but merciful to us. How easy it is for anger to blind us to this truth

Yes, it's easy to profess our faith in God without being prepared to see what that will mean. We can be just as hard and unfeeling towards others, even when we say that we know God's grace and mercy. Even after everything that had happened, Jonah knew that God was gracious and compassionate toward him.

We should extend this same graciousness and compassion towards one another (James 1:19-20). Anger can affect us so that this can be difficult, and dangerous for us to do (Ephesians 4:26-27). Benjamin Franklin once said that, "Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one."

Anger is a fact of life, there's no getting around it. Even so, let it be reassuring that God created us in His image (Genesis 1:27). Which means that He created us out of love, not anger. This is what we need to think about the next time we feel anger creeping into our lives.

Scripture: Ephesians 4:26-27; Romans 12:21; John 16:33; Proverbs 26:20; Ecclesiastes 7:9

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, help me temper my anger with the thoughts of your grace and mercy. There is so much anger and hurt in the world already. I do not need to add to what is already too much. I pray that I will treat others with the love and kindness that You have always shown me. Amen

Have a blessed Monday!

Winnie