August 1, 2007 TICKED? As a
passenger boarded the Los Angeles-to-New York plane,
he
told the flight attendant to wake him and make sure
he got off in
Dallas. The passenger
awoke just as the
plane was landing in New York.
Furious, he
called the flight attendant and demanded an
explanation. The
attendant mumbled an apology and, in a rage, the
passenger stomped off the plane.
“Boy,
was he ever mad!” another crew member
observed to her errant colleague.
Anger is an easy
emotion for all of us to tap into. The sources of our
anger are varied: A
perceived loss of control, factors affecting
our values, memories of events and
experiences from our past...
Anger, as an emotional state,
can
range from mild irritation to an intense
rage. Often,
when
we’re angry we change physically: our
blood pressure goes up, our adrenaline
begins to flow.
The
Apostle
Paul writes, “Be angry and yet
do not sin” (Ephesians 4:4).
Anger can lead to
sinful behavior - actions and
attitudes
which are destructive to us and
to others - which are against
the will
of God. Will
Rogers said, “Whenever
you fly into a rage, you
seldom make a safe landing.”
A man once tried to
rationalize his
angry outbursts. “There’s
nothing wrong with losing
my
temper,” He
said. “I blow up,
and then it’s all
over.”
“So
does a shotgun,”
came the reply, “and
look
at the damage it
leaves behind!”
The
Bible teaches us
that there is
anger which can
lead us to acts of
righteousness.
Perhaps
the most familiar
is Jesus driving
out those who had
made the Temple
into a place of
shady business
rather than a
place of prayer
(Mark
11:15-17).
Strange as
it may seem, God
has
blessed us with
the ability to be
angry.
However,
seldom, when I
am warming up
to a good fit
of anger, do I
think about
the
differences
between
“destructive”
and
“righteous”
anger.
Perhaps the
best proactive
approach to
anger is
retroactive.
Trying
to understand
what it is
that we are
angry about
and why.
Spending time
away from the
intensity of
the moment -
even
physically
removing
ourselves from
the
situation -
gives us the
opportunity to
see our
emotion and
its source
with greater
clarity.
Sometimes
this may
mean talking
through things
with someone
who can give
us an
objective
perspective on
what we’re
feeling.
It is
really helpful
to understand
“what” taps
into our
reservoir of
anger so
that we can
take control
of the emotion
before it
takes control
of us.
One
of the
most helpful
things I have
found in
dealing with
anger is to
take my
introspection
to God in
prayer.
I have
found that God
desires to
help me
understand the
source of my
anger and
how best to
deal with
situations
which lead me
to an angry
response.
My
prayers can go
something like
this, “
God, I’m
really
ticked and I
don’t know
why.
Help me
to
understand
what’s going
on.” “God,
help me to
calm down and
to understand
how you want
me to
respond.”
Or, this
really
tough prayer,
“God, what
is it that
this anger is
showing me
about
myself that
you want to
deal
with?” Sometimes
a simple, “HELP!”
is also
effective in
getting me
into a place
where I am
looking to God
to do His work
in my life.
Placing our
lives and
situations in
God’s hands
means that
He can use our
anger to help
us grow closer
to Him, to
eliminate
destructive
behavior, to
stand up to
injustice, and
even to serve
Him.
With
God, we do not
need to be
bound by anger
but we can
grow through
it.
The
next time you
feel angry
take
that anger to
God and see
what He does
with it.
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