Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue, the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel, both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back -- in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.
Anger, I have seen this cause a lot of people lose out with God. It has eaten them alive. I don't ever want to let anger get the best of me. I ran across the following scriptures and they go well with the above quote and I would like to share them with you.
What to do when you feel Angry:
(James 1:19-20 KJV) Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
(Ephesians 4:26 KJV) Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
(Proverbs 15:1 KJV) A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
(Matthew 6:14 KJV) For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
(Proverbs 14:29 KJV) He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
(Proverbs 16:32 KJV) He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
(Ecclesiastes 7:9 KJV) Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
(Romans 12:19 KJV) Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
(Proverbs 25:21-22 KJV) If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.
(Hebrews 10:30 KJV) For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
(Ephesians 4:31-32 KJV) Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
(Matthew 5:22-24 KJV) But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
.(Proverbs 14:16-17 KJV) A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident. He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.
(Colossians 3:8 KJV) But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
.(Psalm 37:8 KJV) Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
Even if you feel you have a right to be angry, do you really have a right? No one had a right to be angry anymore than Christ did when He was on the cross and yet all he said was: "...Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do..." Luke 23:34
Remember this: by Elizabeth Kenny:
He who angers you conquers you.
Lord, help me to be more like you!
8 comments:
Auntie Jo Jo! I love the quote on Anger! Where do you find all these quotes??
Now bonzi, I can't give away my secrets now can I? What do you think of the skeleton? Ain't he just a riot?
Good post, Jolene. I don't want anger to consume my spirit either. If Jesus, who is my perfect example chose to be forgiving when He had every right to be angry,then I need to do the same. I love the skeleton graphic too.
Blessings,
Carol
Great post. And so true. And I, too, like the quote. I am going to write that one down!
Carol, I had this skeleton character for a while now and when I read this quote I knew he was just the right picture for this quote. I can just imagine that he is what one's spirit looks like when it is consumed with anger. God forbid that we should ever allow anger to gain control of our lives and destroy us in such an ugly way as this. I thought the quote and the picture both were quite a eye opener myself.
Rochelle, I too was blown away by this quote. Powerful was it not? My pastor's wife and I talked about this very subject not to long ago. But when I read this quote, WOW! It's just the way it is worded. It really got ahold of me that's for sure. I am going to print it out as well with my little skeleton friend and frame it and hang it on the wall here by my computer. Yep, for a reminder. Don't want anger to get ahold of me that's for sure.
Great post. I like the line that said, "...both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back..." That really sums up anger. What makes one angry is a certain type of pain and then flash - anger enters with a retalitory spirit and spews pain in return.
I think after a year of blogging, you could write an inspirational book from your many great posts.
Slow down now Sis Allard, now you have me writing books? What do you see that I don't? But thanks for your vote of confidence.
Post a Comment