Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.  Proverbs 14:29 

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  Galatians 5:19-21 19

In keeping with the same theme as my last blog, and with the topic that we are discussing on the podcast, the subject that we will discuss this week is anger. Most people who have known me for a significant amount of time have heard me admit that this is the emotion that I struggle with the most. Anger is an important emotion that is necessary for us to a point, but the real importance, and challenge lies in our ability to manage it in a healthy Christ-like way.

I often used the example of Jesus when a situation would arise where my anger would be out of control, especially in cases where I believed that I was justified. I would say things like, “Jesus flipped the tables over at the temple when he got angry at those taking advantage of others.”  This sounded like a perfectly reasonable explanation, until my mom would interject, “You are not Jesus, and you are not at the temple.”  And just like most other cases where my mom was involved, she was correct.

In a day and age where it is both convenient and easy to conduct most communications from behind a keyboard, the subject of anger is much more prominent. I have selected two verses to help understand how to deal with this emotion the way God intended.  The verse from Proverbs I chose due to its simplicity. Think before you react.  The second selection was to illustrate the severity of when anger is not kept in check. Just look at the other examples that are included with it. It is difficult to argue that the list is very intense. So, whether you are conversing with someone face-to-face, or through hundreds of miles of Wi-Fi, remember that we are to be examples of Jesus in both word and speech.

Have a great week!

~Danny