An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin. Proverbs 29:22
How do I keep from sinning when I am angry? That is the challenge given in Ephesians 4:26, which says, “Be angry, and do not sin” (nkjv). King Solomon echoes the same sentiment in Proverbs 29 when he reminds us that a hot temper can lead to many kinds of sin. We’ve all seen evidence of that, whether the sin is hurtful, cutting words; physical violence; or reckless behavior. There is a better way.
Yesterday we looked at the first step for handling anger in a positive way: Consciously acknowledge to yourself that you are angry. Today we look at step two: Restrain your immediate response. Don’t jump to action; think. Most of us follow the patterns we learned in childhood, and those patterns tend to cluster around two extremes—verbal or physical venting on the one hand, or withdrawal and silence on the other. Both are destructive.
How do you change these patterns? How do you restrain your immediate response? Some do it by counting to ten or one hundred. Others do it by taking deep breaths or going for a walk. One woman told me that when she gets angry, she waters her flowers. She said, “The first summer I tried this I almost drowned my petunias.” Yes, you can break old patterns. Find a plan that works for you and learn to restrain your negative responses to anger.
Lord Jesus, when I get angry, I often lose my temper and hurt my mate by lashing out verbally. I know that’s destructive to our relationship. Please help me to retrain myself to respond differently.
How do I keep from sinning when I am angry? That is the challenge given in Ephesians 4:26, which says, “Be angry, and do not sin” (nkjv). King Solomon echoes the same sentiment in Proverbs 29 when he reminds us that a hot temper can lead to many kinds of sin. We’ve all seen evidence of that, whether the sin is hurtful, cutting words; physical violence; or reckless behavior. There is a better way.
Yesterday we looked at the first step for handling anger in a positive way: Consciously acknowledge to yourself that you are angry. Today we look at step two: Restrain your immediate response. Don’t jump to action; think. Most of us follow the patterns we learned in childhood, and those patterns tend to cluster around two extremes—verbal or physical venting on the one hand, or withdrawal and silence on the other. Both are destructive.
How do you change these patterns? How do you restrain your immediate response? Some do it by counting to ten or one hundred. Others do it by taking deep breaths or going for a walk. One woman told me that when she gets angry, she waters her flowers. She said, “The first summer I tried this I almost drowned my petunias.” Yes, you can break old patterns. Find a plan that works for you and learn to restrain your negative responses to anger.
Lord Jesus, when I get angry, I often lose my temper and hurt my mate by lashing out verbally. I know that’s destructive to our relationship. Please help me to retrain myself to respond differently.
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