![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Angry-297x300.jpg\")
Brother John Clark once related a story about a woman who told a preacher she had a bad temper, but that it was over in a minute. “So is a shotgun blast, but it blows everything to pieces,” was the preacher’s reply. And far too many of us who are Christians are triggered by the least little incident, frequently losing our temper. When we lose our temper, we usually do and say things in anger which we later regret. “He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly<\/em>” (Proverbs 14:17).<\/p>\nIt has been said that “anger is like rain, which breaks itself upon that whereon it falls.” For example, anger usually culminates in bitter words, insults, the revealing of secrets, or in the breaking off of relations between two parties. Of the aforementioned, insults are probably the most frequent cause of anger. Most of us had rather be injured physically than insulted. There is something about an insult that makes us want to repay with a worse insult. How many of us possess the magnanimous spirit of Abraham Lincoln when he was insulted? It is reported that when he was told that one of his cabinet members, Edwin Stanton, called him a fool, he replied, “If Stanton says I am a fool, I had better look into the matter, for he is a wise man.” No doubt that worked much better than if he would have retaliated by losing his temper, setting off a chain reaction with much more bitterness and resentment to follow. Incidentally, after Lincoln was killed, it was Stanton who remarked in subdued tones of respect, “There lies the greatest leader this country has ever known.”<\/p>\n
The Bible teaches us the importance of practicing self-control. It is listed as the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23, and among what we sometimes refer to as the “seven Christian graces” in II Peter 1:6. Self-control is one of the Christian’s weapons against the world. And practicing self-control involves controlling our temper. We must follow after Christ’s example – “Who, did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously<\/em>” (I Peter 2:22-23). The person who continually loses his temper is like an undefended city or one in ruins. The wise man Solomon said, “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls<\/em>” (Proverbs 25:28). What a sign of weakness when we constantly lose our temper! And it is certainly a poor reflection of Christ in our lives when we “fly off the handle.”<\/p>\n Christians must learn to be calm and serious. James said, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath<\/em>” (James 1:19). This brings to mind the motto: “Think twice before you speak. Losing your temper, blurting out angry words, and speaking your mind excites strife. “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger<\/em>” (Proverbs 15:1).<\/p>\n by R. J. Evans Brother John Clark once related a story about a woman who told a preacher she had a bad temper, but that it was over in a minute. “So is a shotgun blast, but it blows everything to pieces,” was the preacher’s reply. And far too many of us who are Christians…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1503,811],"class_list":["post-32394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-anger","tag-self-control"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42608,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-family-doesnt-believe-in-christianity-and-i-find-myself-losing-my-temper\/","url_meta":{"origin":32394,"position":0},"title":"My family doesn’t believe in Christianity and I find myself losing my temper","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a convert to Christianity, but my family belongs to the Hindu religion. My family opposes Christianity. They refuse to accept Jesus. I have a very strong belief in Jesus from the core of my heart. My problem is that I am losing my temper, which affects my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34939,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-medical-conditions-be-behind-negative-thoughts-worries-and-anger\/","url_meta":{"origin":32394,"position":1},"title":"Can medical conditions be behind negative thoughts, worries, and anger?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I often wonder if medical conditions can be an excuse for how we feel? Take someone that has started having anxiety attacks out of the blue. They have never been someone that worries but because of a hormone imbalance they often have negative thoughts. Are they in sin? How\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8759,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/any-suggestions-for-handling-an-angry-member\/","url_meta":{"origin":32394,"position":2},"title":"Any suggestions for handling an angry member?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 25, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Well, we had a stormy night at services!\u00a0 A brother lost his temper and made a big scene just at the end of class and was upset so far as I can tell that we did not get to the next lesson as I reviewed the one we were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41476,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-express-my-anger-in-a-way-that-is-healthy-and-in-a-way-god-would-want-us-to\/","url_meta":{"origin":32394,"position":3},"title":"How can I express my anger in a way that is healthy and in a way God would want us to?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I would like to wish you a very happy New Year. This year, I want to focus even more on becoming a better Christian and learning what God requires of us. My question is in regards to anger. Sometimes, like all humans, I get angry in life. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1745,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-handle-people-with-hot-tempers\/","url_meta":{"origin":32394,"position":4},"title":"How do you handle people with hot tempers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 28, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How do you handle people with hot tempers? Answer: The Bible speaks of two types of anger: the quick, fly-off-the-handle, hot-tempered people; and the slow, methodical, vengeance seeking people. Both are dangerous, for different reasons. We are told, \"But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42846,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/angry-words\/","url_meta":{"origin":32394,"position":5},"title":"Angry Words","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 4:25-5:2 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Bible speaks of two types of anger \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The quick, fly-off-the handle, hot tempered anger \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The slow, methodical, vengeful anger \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Both are dangerous for different reasons \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0D.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Colossians 3:8 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Orge (anger) is the slow building type of anger \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Thumos (wrath) is the passionate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32394\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Angry words! O let them never
\nFrom the tongue unbridled slip;
\nMay the heart’s best impulse ever
\nCheck them ere they soil the lip.\nAuthor Unknown<\/em>
\nFirst appeared in\u00a0Sunday School Teacher<\/em>, 1867\n<\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"