When You Feel Angry – Part 1/2
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19)
The Bible gives us three keys to handling our anger the right way. Let’s look at each one and see what we can learn:
1) ‘Be quick to listen.’ Don’t react, and don’t rush to judgment. Slow down and try to get the facts, then prayerfully and carefully consider how God wants you to respond.
2) ‘Slow to speak.’ If you’re unsure, or you don’t know, just say so. There is an old Chinese proverb that says, ‘It’s better to say nothing and appear to be a fool than to open your mouth and confirm it.’ Your need to be in control, or to look like you have all the answers, can come back to bite you. What you don’t say, you won’t have to explain or apologize for later.
3) ‘Slow to get angry.’ Note, the Bible doesn’t say that you should never get angry. It says you should get angry about the right things, in the right way, at the right time. Solomon says, ‘Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool’ (Ecclesiastes 7:9). That’s why it’s so important to deal with your hurts. An unhealed wound causes pain which often manifests itself in anger. The trouble is, we carry our anger around with us and vent it on others. As a result, they distance themselves from us, or distrust us, or deny us the intimacy and closeness we desire with them.
The Bible says, ‘The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression’ (Proverbs 19:11). Christ-like character grows through exercising patience, love, and restraint.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me listen more and get angry less, if at all! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
ITTT
Thank you for this morning’s devotion. It has come at the right time for me. I have been treated badly (in my opinion, and also agreed, by our Sr. Pastor, with whom I have been working), while trying so hard to develop a Children’s Ministry at my new church (of a three year membership). They are a heavily focused Senior membership. Through a three year period of resistance, lack of interest, and resentment by a few, I have faced the situation of giving up, throwing in the towel, and each time through your devotions, Pastor’s sermons, Turning Point messages, all directing me in some way, to not give up (truly seeing that these messages have come from God. However, a build up of self pity, anger and bitterness has caused me, yes, to blast off at one of the covert actions of removing our Ministry supplies and materials to a lesser space, to lash out and through such surprise and anger… I did, indeed, make a fool of myself.
This has been almost a weekly occurrence. Knocked down, prayer, bounce back, etc. resignation from the ministry. and now finally considering leaving the church. But yet, again, I am calmed, and wake up to “try again”. But the bad feelings have been built, and I’m not sure if I am too naive or stubborn to give up and leave. There is something there that keeps giving me hope and the feeling that God wants me to stick it out and He will provide, in His time, the solution. I believe I am at a point where God is ready to step in, but I’m not sure whether He wants me to… act, or move quietly forward on the “Call” to which I have been committed, that and let Him take it from here. Your message today, and a small encouragement from our main Pastor two days ago, seems to have provided that crack in the door … do I try to open it further? or, step back and let God open or close it?
In Faith and with Hope…
dorothy schawk … deschawk@bellsouth.net