Foolish Anger

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"Foolish Anger" By Diane Webb

Ecclesiastes 7: 9—"Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools."

Who is the angriest person you know? Would you agree they act foolish? Have you seen them do some unwise things when angry? People who cannot control their anger are normally seen as being incompetent and of lower intelligence than those who remain calm. Showing your anger to others is not wise if you want people to be confident in your abilities. Anger is not strength, courage, or heroic. Proverbs 25: 28 says not being able to control your anger makes you weak and vulnerable. It almost always leads to bad decisions and bad behavior. We can all remember times when we said, or did something we regret because of anger. Ecclesiastes 7: 9 advises us not to be quick to anger. Although anger is a natural emotion, it does not have to be out of control or have free rein in your life. Out of control anger has destroyed many homes and made others miserable places to live in. Loud, angry people are not enjoyable to be around and eventually end up alone. The root of anger most often involves demanding someone or something to be different that it is. We, basically, get mad when things aren't the way we want them to be or think they should be. We get mad when people don't respond as we expect them to. We get mad when things don't go our way. Managing our own anger is one thing but how can we respond to someone else's anger? Proverbs gives several suggestions for answering anger in another person. It suggests responding with a gentle answer, and showing patience (chapter 15). The natural reaction when someone is angry is to be angry back. Answering anger with gentleness and patience will often lower the anger in the other person. Chapter 19 says to ignore wrongs and allow those with a bad temper to suffer the consequences for their anger. A lot of anger is the result of a wrong done to us or someone we love. Ignoring those wrongs, means you just don't sit around trying to analyze, process, or right the wrong. Allowing people to suffer the consequences of their anger is pretty obvious. Don't go get them out of jail every time they get arrested for fighting. Don't buy them a replacement when they break something in anger. Don't lie for them to help them get out of trouble. When their anger has led them to break the law, do not interfere with the process of justice when it takes place. Chapter 22 says not to make friends with people who have a hot temper. Most times, people who have a bad temper are known for it. It's usually no secret. If, by chance, you have not heard of their temper but it becomes obvious soon after meeting them, break off the relationship. Having a relationship with a perpetually angry person will only lead to hurt and harm. Margaret Thatcher, when she was prime minister of England, demonstrated many of the suggestions mentioned today. She was spat upon by a citizen when walking in public once. She calmly pulled out a tissue, dabbed her face and walked on. She did not comment, show anger, or waste any time on the matter at all. She simply ignored the wrong and patiently walked on. Now, surely she had staff around her who took care of the offender. That part of the story is not known. Regardless, she was seen as a very intelligent, strong, and capable woman because she was able to control her anger in public in spite of an offense that would have pushed most of us over the edge.

Dear Heavenly Father, help me be slow to anger. I pray I will never let my anger get the best of me or cause me to say or do something I regret. If I have any anger now, Lord, I turn it all over to you. I thank you for taking this burden from me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.