Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Anger”
Our Bible verse for today: “My dearly loved brothers, understand this: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.” James 1:19-20 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Do your thoughts, words, and deeds honor God?”
Today I want to return to our discussion about the more subtle expressions of anger which we began to consider the other day.
In the book, “The Anger Management Workbook”, Dr. Les Carter tells of a counseling session he had with a man whose wife was prone to outbursts of anger. The man was convinced that his wife was the one with the anger management problem but Dr. Carter helped him to see that in his own way, he too struggled with anger – he just expressed it in different ways.
To help illustrate this point, below I’m including some items from a longer inventory list that Dr. Carter offers in the book designed to help us recognize some of the more subtle expressions of anger. See how many of these apply to you, but do so while keeping the thought from James 1:19-20 in mind: do these subtle expressions of anger accomplish or diminish God’s righteousness in you?
- Impatience comes over me more frequently than I would like.
- I nurture critical thoughts quite easily.
- When I am displeased with someone I may shut down any communication or withdraw.
- I feel inwardly annoyed when family and friends do not comprehend my needs.
- I feel frustrated when I see someone else having fewer struggles than I do.
- Sometimes I walk in the other direction to avoid seeing someone I don’t like.
- When I talk about my irritations I don’t really want to hear an opposite point of view.
- I do not easily forget when someone does me wrong.
- Sometimes my discouragement makes me want to quit.
- I struggle emotionally with the things in life that are not fair.
- I sometimes blame others for my problems.
- At times I struggle with moods of depression or discouragement.
- I have been known to take an “I don’t care” attitude toward the needs of others.
The list in the book is longer but you get the idea. So, how many of those items apply to you? Can you see now that the expression of anger entails more than just outbursts of rage, and that none of those attitudes or actions (even the subtle ones), help to accomplish the righteousness of God?
We all have anger control issues in some respect, and improperly expressed anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness in us.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 