Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Anger”
Our Bible verse for today: “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.” Proverbs 29:11 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Uncontrolled anger makes you look foolish.”
I remember the summer I turned 12 years old. It was pretty much a regular summer in a “Leave it to Beaver” kind of suburban New Jersey neighborhood. We were out of school for the summer and life was good.
Right around the corner from our house was Saint Matthew’s Catholic Church and School. The property included large grassy fields with baseball diamonds, and a shady grove of trees with picnic tables and playgrounds. It was nice.
On this particular day my friends and I were on the baseball field having ourselves a friendly neighborhood game. I was playing left field. A friend of mine was at bat. The pitcher pitched the ball, my friend swung with all his might, he made great contact, and the bat shattered in two.
As I watched this from left field I thought it was my own brand new bat that he had just shattered and I flew into a rage. I threw down my glove, I started shouting curses at the top of my lungs, I called his mother names that I’ll probably have to answer for in eternity, and I’m sure that in homes all around our neighborhood mothers were covering the ears of young children and slamming their windows shut.
And then I discovered that it wasn’t my bat he had broken after all – and boy did I look foolish. And, sadly, that was not uncommon. I did that sort of thing all the time. I had a real problem with my temper in those days and I frequently flew into rages about all sorts of things. The uncontrolled temper of Jim Mersereau was legendary in our little town and I’m sure the people who knew me then would be somewhat astonished to learn I ended up being a mild-mannered Baptist Preacher! But then again, God did part the Red Sea and Jesus did raise Lazarus from the dead. So miracles do happen.
The point is that when we lose our temper we appear foolish and we embarrass ourselves. We also sin against God. In Proverbs 29, shortly after reminding me of what a fool I sometimes still am, Solomon also said that people like that are sinners in the eyes of God: “An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.” 29:23
Yes, he stirs up dissension. My “friend” who shattered “my” bat didn’t appreciate my characterizations of his mother and so as I stood there in left field, I watched him coming towards me on a long slow walk with a piece of the broken bat in his hand. I could only imagine what he was intending to do with it. Fortunately for me, other friends stopped him by reminding him that Jim Mersereau was a loud mouthed jerk who had problems controlling his temper. Fortunately a fight was avoided, but I still looked like a fool.
I hope you’ve found this month of devotionals on the subject of anger to be helpful. I want to remind you that the subject of anger is much broader and more complex than just what we’ve been able to address in these few short devotional messages. Therefore I encourage you to get a copy of the excellent resource “The Anger Workbook” by Les Carter and Frank Minirth. You’ll find your study of it to be time well spent.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 