Has the world gone mad? This morning on Drudge, I read an article posted yesterday about a woman attacking a piece of artwork by Gauguin of two partially nude Tahitian women. The 53-year-old female suspect said it was “very homosexual.” Good grief, that’s just ridiculous! Of course, it’s reported this same woman said “I am from the American CIA and I have a radio in my head. I am going to kill you.” Anger issues may be only one of her problems.
People translate their own strong feelings of disapproval for the need to stoop to radical, violent behavior as the key to solving the problems of the world. Nothing good ever came from anger or hate. In the book of Ecclesiastes, it says: “Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.” Isn’t this what we’re seeing with this woman? There is something deeply disturbing about any person who veers to the extreme far side of reality pushing the laws of reasoning to the limit where it just becomes blurred.
My parents always taught me two wrongs don’t make a right. That’s where liberal-minded people fail to see that acts of violence aren’t fixing a wrong. The Bible tells us, “Be ye angry and sin not…” in the New Testament. We all fall short too often on this score, I know, and I’m just about as guilty of this as the next person.
How do we avoid the pitfall of anger?
- Recognize you’re upset. Take a slow deep breath and count to ten before you utter a single word.
- Walking away from the person or situation, briefly to collect your thoughts before confronting the issue is always a safe bet for handling things with greater success and less heat.
- Remember to P.U.S.H (Pray Until Something Happens) for God to dissipate your anger so your emotions won’t be clouded.
The Bible is a wonderful resource for getting us through everything life can throw at us. We’re given some excellent advice in the book of James on anger. “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath”. Ouch, right? We have to listen first, not open our mouths, and then what’s this? We are not to retaliate immediately! I know those words are easier said than done but that’s when we have to decide to control Satan situation, instead of allowing the situation control us.
The next time you feel like running a guy off the road or scratching the eyes out of your co-worker or destroying a piece of artwork, then remind yourself what Proverbs tell us, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty”.
God bless you and have a Terrific Tuesday.