“Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil.” -Psalm 37:8
Christian philosopher Dallas Willard once said, “Anger is like a headache in that it tells me something is wrong. It’s a feeling that seizes us in our body and immediately impels us toward interfering with, and possibly even harming, those who have thwarted our will and interfered with our life. Anger includes a will to harm them. Most wrongdoing traces back to anger.”
Pain, like that of a headache, is actually good. When you touch a frying pan, it’s good that you experience pain because if you don’t have pain, you’re going to lose your hand. Like a headache, it tells you something’s wrong. If you feel anger in your body, something’s wrong and you need to address it every time.
Anger is such an important emotion that has a big effect, especially on the people that have to do life with us, that have to work with us, sleep with us, or eat with us. So, anger needs to be dealt with in the right way and right away.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, I feel the pain and know that something is wrong. Please show me the root of the anger I feel and help me to deal with it in the best way possible. Amen.
REFLECTION: What usually helps you the most when you are dealing with anger?
One Response
Other than prayer, the thing that helps me when I am angry is to stop dwelling on whatever caused me to be angry. To put the situation in the back of my mind and heart. Not to nurse and rehearse it.