Apr 10, 2007 - Anger

Apr 10, 2007

Pro 14:16-17 CEV
(16) Only a stupid fool is never cautious-- so be extra careful and stay out of trouble.
(17) Fools have quick tempers, and no one likes you if you can't be trusted.

For years as a teen and adult I was an angry man. I was not the type that would beat you up or something like that. In fact, one person told another in my hearing, that you will not know Bob is angry at you till a half hour after he tells you.

I had a good reason to be angry I thought. I had an alcoholic father who left home when I was 13, a time I needed a man desperately for guidance. I was left home by my mom who had to work 2 to 3 jobs to make ends meet and had no real friends. I had trouble putting myself through college, which I never did in those early years. I had trouble getting a career. When I did get one, I did stay with it, but then I had family trouble.

Through all of that, I learned that my public face could never display the anger that was seething inside of me. Like the writer of Proverbs 14:16, I was a cautious person who stayed out of trouble (for the most part). Only those who lived close to me knew about the anger that dwelled inside of me, and how to push the buttons to get it to come out. Because of that anger I have to live with the results. Verse 17 shows us the results. Someone who gets angry quick is not someone that can be trusted. With the aide of a councilor and friend, I have been able to channel that anger into a better way of life. Do I still get angry, yes, very often. The trick is that I will not let a quick temper come out. I live with the results of what I was, but I can change the future. I have learned to teach my children how to funnel their anger into appropriate ways. We are, as adults, to teach our children the right ways to do things according to God's word. Let's not raise another generation of angry people, let's help them learn the right way. Anger is a good thing in our life, if it is properly controlled. It cannot be something that goes on and on forever.

I pray that any who have anger in them, reading these words, will be led to someone that can help them. Touch their hearts God and minster to them today, In Jesus name. Amen

Scriptures marked as "(CEV)" are taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.