Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly
hold it back. Proverbs 29:11
God Himself has declared that He is slow
get mad. The LORD passed in front of
Moses, calling out, "Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I
am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.” Exodus
34:6. God wants us to be like Him—like His Son, Jesus. There were plenty of
times that Jesus could have let loose a violent anger—like when the Pharisee
tried to confront or trick Him. Then there was the one time that Jesus cleansed
the Temple of the money changers
Another description of God’s anger is found
in the book of Numbers. 'The LORD is slow
to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and
rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents
upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third
and fourth generations.' Numbers 14:18.
There have been times—even lately—when I’ve
vented my anger and then felt foolish and regretted it. What motivated me to
get mad? Unmet expectations. It didn’t accomplish anything but make others feel
bad, unloved, and made me look like a raving lunatic. So what if my seven-year
old grandson cut down the onions and garlic growing in the garden—although those
were the only plants already growing this spring—and he’d been told NOT to play
in that garden bed. I would have been a better example to him if I’d quietly
held back my anger. I learned to yell from my mother and grandmother. So here
we have a third generation learning the fine art of venting anger. God does not
excuse the guilty—that is me. He doesn’t excuse sin…but gratefully He does
forgive.
Paul gave us wise advice when he wrote to
the church at Ephesus about anger. And
"don't sin by letting anger control you." Don't let the sun go down
while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. Ephesians
4:26-27. Are you venting your anger, holding it in or dealing with it?
Prayer
~ Lord, please forgive me for venting my anger and may my grandson not learn
from my mistakes. Help me to deal with any issues in the future in a calm way—with
Your grace and mercy.
© 2016 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT)
unless otherwise noted.
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