No Longer Running on Anger

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1

For a long time, I had no gentle answers. I was filled with bitterness, resentment; carrying around those grudges. I was angry and I was speaking harshly to everyone in general. I had no tolerance and no patience.

An angry life and an angry attitude was bringing me more of the same. I was truly reaping what I sowed. Anger became the fuel that my life ran on though it wasn't always visible on the surface. It was usually there lurking below waiting to find fault and take offense.

Since I have started to really read my Bible, instead of just letting it sit on my bookshelf; I have realized that the anger in my life was using up a lot of my energy. It takes a lot of effort to be so mad all the time.

I could have been using a lot less energy to have more positive moods and I would have been bringing more joy and happiness into my life by allowing small offenses to pass unnoticed. If you have ever heard the phrase "like a dog with a bone" then you can imagine how anger was running my life.

If you have never seen a dog with a bone, then it may be unimaginable how they act. I grew up having a dog as a family pet, so I am pretty familiar with how they get when they have a bone.

They will pretty much pounce on them and stay there forever; just gnawing and getting off every last bit of meat there is. If you approach them, they will probably get a bit protective of it and hold their paws around it and crouch down so you can't take it from them.

They will keep gnawing the bone even after it seems all of the good is gone from it. If they can get outside with it, they will bury it for later and dig it up when they feel the need for it.

Not a pretty picture, but there it is. I was a dog with a bone called anger. Even though the "meat" was gone, I would still continue to gnaw at it. Instead of letting it go, I buried it and saved it for later.

Had I realized that there was something better out there to sink my teeth into, maybe I wouldn't have held onto anger for so long. I spent a lot of time and energy cultivating these harsh feelings instead of allowing love to be the focus of my life.

"Let your gentleness be evident to all." Philippians 4:5

"Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured." Mark Twain

Resources

Day 23 -Holding Onto Faith; Not Grudges

Quote DB - Mark Twain Quote

Doug Britton Books - What God Says About Anger In The Bible