Keeping Anger In Its Place

Keeping Anger in Its Place

Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul. Proverbs 22:24-25

We’ve all been tempted to do it, even on a small scale. We want to get back at someone for something they’ve done to us with a snide remark or by criticizing them in front of others. If we haven’t done it, at least we’ve thought about doing it. In either case, it only makes the original issue worse. Once anger, frustration, deceit, or cunning ways get a foothold in any situation in our lives, the devil begins to have a field day. There is no telling when we will be able to turn things around, restore the relationship—if ever—or regain our reputation.

Most coaches frequently talk to players about their behavior both on and off the field. No matter what happens to you, don’t compound the problem by trying to get back at whoever did something to you. Did you get that? So often it’s not the initial issue or incident that gets you into trouble—it’s what happens next. How often have you seen the player who retaliates for a cheap shot get the penalty flag thrown on him instead of on the original offender?

It happens all the time in football, and it happens all the time in life. A friend or a spouse says something, and we retaliate angrily. Now we’re off to the races as another sinner right alongside them. God doesn’t think in terms of who said what first or how sinful one person’s actions may be when compared with another person’s. All sin causes a person to be separated from God because God is holy, He cannot look at sin, no matter how small or how heinous it is.

When you find yourself in a volatile situation, don’t make things worse by letting anger get the better of you. Be wiser than hot-tempered people with short fuses. If you stay calm, instead of reacting angrily, it will be easier to control yourself in whatever situation you find yourself in. And it may have a lasting effect on someone else.

Uncommon Key > Do you have angry people in your life? Let them know that anger never helps a situation; it only makes it worse. And as much as you’d like to retaliate with anger at times, always take a deep breath before you lose control.