“Anger in particular seems closer to men, young men and I have even seen old men angry. 

Men are angry with their leaders for not leading, and with their followers for not following. They are angry at those who do not come to their aid, and angry at those who do come to there aid.   

“Many are angry at their families, who make them feel guilty, and angry at themselves for not being who they want to be. It is a frozen anger, an anger which settles into a biting resentment and slowly paralyzes a generous heart.

“If there is anything that makes the Family look grim and dull, it is this dark, insidious anger in the servants of Christ.”

Have you ever been so angry?

I have been so angry I went to bed mad, I slept with a frown on my face. (What a miserable night.)

This issue has been on my heart for the past year. After prayer and much fasting, I had to say, anger was in me. This realization was somewhat unexpected: I don’t see myself as an angry person. I have always thought of myself as a peacemaker by nature. I don’t explode. I have never been a screamer.

And yet I have anger in me. I know this because it surfaces when I don’t expect it.

Example: I remember a hurtful thing a person said to me a long time ago.

Years had passed; surely I’m too big now to be bothered by such a little thing, and yet there it is. This scene gets replayed in my mind, only with alternate endings. I find myself fantasizing about how to get even, how to hurt back.

Where does this come from?

 Signs of my anger are like a launch count down to blast off!

I avoid direct eye contact and physical touch and do not smile genuinely; my tone of voice says, “Stay away.” I close up!

Isn't it amazing we get along with our enemies and angry with our families.

Maybe the most accurate gage to read anger or how and why I manage or mismanage anger is to examine how my anger comes out with my children, my wife and family . Believe me they can bring it out.

 For with them, (My Children)my anger has few external constraints.

They can’t yell back!

 They can’t get offended, withdraw their pledges, and start attending other families. So I can see what my anger will do unimpeded. How frighten! How unfair to them! What a grief to the heart of God. What a reproach on my own identity.

We get angry at work, but wait till we get home to get mad. Like waving a red flag in front of a wounded bull

This pattern of behavior leads me to another insight: it is not the job or my family that makes me angry; it’s me that makes me angry. Because anger is such a powerful emotion, it feels as if it is being caused by something “out there.”

First of all I had to ask what is Anger?

Whole forests have been cut down to provide paper for the books that seek to answer this question.

 I think the best answer is that anger is:

Anger is an Emotional demand for Control.

 Physiological arousal — your heart-racing, adrenaline-pumping, blood-pressure raising arousal — along with my own hostile or indignant interpretation of what caused the arousal.  

It is always my interpretation of events that makes me angry.

The bible clearly says:

Ephesians 4:26-27 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Proverbs 16:32 [He that is] slow to anger [is] better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city.

The truth is my response is learned behavior. I learned it long ago, from people I grew up around, learned it so informally that I was not aware that I was learning anything.

The good news is what can be learned can be unlearned. The power of God can touch our hearts!

It is possible for us to manage our anger in a God-honoring way: to “be angry and sin not.” Don't Blow it!!

Let me hear your thoughts!

Blessing, Danny                                             click add comments link,