Anger...

Lately, I have found myself becoming angry, so easily. Now while I may have my moments, I am generally not an angry person. Noramally, I have a smile on my face and a cheerful heart... In fact, I have never been so easily angered and I have never found myself being pessimistic as I have been recently in my life! I have no clue where this bout has come from.

But, through this odd season in my life... I have made an important discovery:

I chose what emotion I will have -thus I can decide whether or not I will be "angry."



As a simple example, today I was chatting online with a friend. This friend worded his words a little oddly and then the sentence that he wrote was in all capitals. My first thought was “I can’t believe he just typed that! That was offensive…” Right then I realized that I could chose to get angry, or could have patience and either (A) ask what was meant by the comment or (B) see what was written by him next.

Long story short, I didn’t allow myself to get upset over something minor and I realized that it was me that was wrong. I had read his wording the wrong way and if I had just taken the time to patiently read what was written I would have seen why he used capital letters. I let anger get the best of me for just those few seconds and it’s amazing the lies and mean thoughts that come to mind.

This is just one small example of my anger... But there are many times in my day that I have the chance to become angry: maybe driving in my car, maybe when my brothers try to perturb me, or even when I see that my grade is low in a class. In all of these situations I can choose my emotion.

So, how is anger defeated?

I believe anger can be combated best by two things: (1) Love (2) Patience. (I would go into more detail, but I believe most of us know what love is and I believe most of us know what patience is.) If you are lacking in love or patience, I would like to encourage you to pray for these Fruit of the Spirit. They come in handy quite often and they can be used to glorify Christ in the most noticeable ways.