#Anger [part one] 2017.07.17
I was talking to someone over the weekend and they shared how she & her boyfriend drove down from Massachusetts, and how her boyfriend has "road rage". Now, understand something - this is quite possibly one of the nicest guys I know, and I’ve always thought so from "go". What’s even more amazing is how, including this past weekend, we’ve only "seen" each other fours times! And yet, we "click" and always have fun whenever we see each other & catch up. But in getting to know his girlfriend, she shared how he gets upset when it comes to traffic, or getting cut off…
Anger seems to be my most current, and unsurmountable obstacle at the moment. I don’t get angry so much at "small stuff", like traffic or people, but the things that do get me, if they’re "memorable", will stay with me for a while, ruining my happiness for other aspects of my life. This saps my patience, and I become short-tempered, even towards the "small stuff’.
I’ve come toe the realistic conclusion that I have an issue with anger… that something in my past, or childhood, directs me to become so angry… It’s come to a point where I can’t "avoid" or deny it (not like I was… I just didn’t believe that it was this big of an issue, or so deep-rooted).
Its been a tough time for me because I can feel the anger, and that helps in knowing that something’s wrong. It’s a great start for me, because I’m acknowledging something that’s wrong, but also not "going over the edge" with this emotion… This also helps because I can then "know my limits" - I don’t want to be "the angry guy" or "the dark cloud" so knowing my limit helps before I start wandering into that territory.
What do you do? How do you deal with your anger?
We sometimes forget that anger is just something we’ll never avoid in life, and that’s because we live in a troubled world where things can and do go wrong. The problem is, when you’re unable to handle your anger, you will hurt others. No matter how you handle your anger, no matter where you are in your "growth in combatting anger", your heart gets poisoned… you become farther away from God. And God cares about what makes you angry, and He cares about how you express your anger.
The problem we have is that, some say that you should vent your anger, "let ‘em have it!". Whilst others say that you need to diffuse it, or stuff it down. But God says that stuffing your anger deep inside is destructive. And learning "tricks" in staying "calm" never helps one discover the purpose for which God designed anger. It needs to be acknowledged and expressed, but in a positive way, as a form of doing what is good & right. He also knows that venting your anger is destructive. So you’re left with expressing your anger in a way that actually redeems difficult situations & relationships.
HOW?!?!?
First, we need to understand what anger is, where it comes from, and how a right relationship with God will actually change the way you view & express your anger.
- more tomorrow -
