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- Apr 25, 2006
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Anger management (1)
'don't sin by letting anger control you' EPHESIANS 4:25-26
So, you want to be a 'good Christian'. You want to love other people. It's just that sometimes other people can be so frustrating, so annoying, so downright unlovable. In fact, with some people, you suspect that the kindest way to show them love is by slapping them severely with a freshly filleted mackerel (or whatever punishment your raging emotions dream up). If only you could find permission for that in the Sermon on the Mount! So, here's today's question: how can we manage our anger healthily?
Tip for today is 'honesty is the best policy'. '..."don't sin by letting anger control you"...' (Ephesians 4:25-26
NLT).
When you're angry don't deny it, acknowledge it. We're right to feel angry when innocent people are mistreated. We're wrong to feel like smashing a breezeblock into someone's head just because they push in front of us in the dinner queue. Now, we don't have to be Christian doormats that let everyone walk over us; but neither do we want to walk around like ticking time bombs about to explode.
So start controlling your feelings before they control you. And when you have to take someone to task, keep it truthful not hurtful. It's one thing to tell a person why you're angry with them, another to start dissing their very existence. 'Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit - you choose' (Proverbs 18:21 TM)
written by Bob Gass
'don't sin by letting anger control you' EPHESIANS 4:25-26
So, you want to be a 'good Christian'. You want to love other people. It's just that sometimes other people can be so frustrating, so annoying, so downright unlovable. In fact, with some people, you suspect that the kindest way to show them love is by slapping them severely with a freshly filleted mackerel (or whatever punishment your raging emotions dream up). If only you could find permission for that in the Sermon on the Mount! So, here's today's question: how can we manage our anger healthily?
Tip for today is 'honesty is the best policy'. '..."don't sin by letting anger control you"...' (Ephesians 4:25-26
NLT).
When you're angry don't deny it, acknowledge it. We're right to feel angry when innocent people are mistreated. We're wrong to feel like smashing a breezeblock into someone's head just because they push in front of us in the dinner queue. Now, we don't have to be Christian doormats that let everyone walk over us; but neither do we want to walk around like ticking time bombs about to explode.
So start controlling your feelings before they control you. And when you have to take someone to task, keep it truthful not hurtful. It's one thing to tell a person why you're angry with them, another to start dissing their very existence. 'Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit - you choose' (Proverbs 18:21 TM)
written by Bob Gass
