Does anger control you? sometimes?

Thursday March 8 2012

Ephesians 4:26-27. “Don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.  Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry for anger gives a mighty foothold to the devil.”

As a teacher in the public system, I observed many young people who found it difficult to control their anger. This is also evident by the “rages” we see and hear about, like road rage, parking rage, shopping rage and even standing in line rage!  This inability to control our emotions is becoming increasingly evident and our children are seeing adults  modeling this behavior. I’m not advocating suppression,  I realize it is healthy not to fear the evidence of emotions, however, there is no honour in displaying anger that is out of control.

 Criminal acts are being performed and justified  in the name of anger because of the acceptance of “everything” and the absence of “absolutes” in our society.

 

Paul doesn’t say we cannot experience anger because that is inevitable, but we should not go to bed angry.  This is especially true of a married couple or a parent and child. This is a principle I was taught at a very young age and it has saved me many lingering disagreements with my spouse and children.

The most damaging effect from this dilemma is that it gives the devil a foothold in our lives. We are vulnerable when we are angry and the devil waits for an opportunity such as this to inflict his arrows of negative influences upon us. It is not always possible to accept the things that make us angry but harboring anger results in a variety of negative effects.

 Spending time in prayer and asking God to give us the strength to forgive and help us rise above the “thing” that made us angry in the first place, brings victory!

   

Prayer for today: Heavenly Father, Sometimes, I find myself getting angry about small things that don’t really matter.  I know this is wasted energy and not in your will for my life.  With your  help I know I can overcome this.  Help me to realize what is worth getting upset over and what I need to ignore or handle with sensitivity and gentleness.  In Jesus name, Amen