anger

Jesus starts the list of sins that harm our relationships with anger. This is appropriate. Anger is at the center of most of our trouble. When we let anger have a home in our lives we suffer tremendously. Aggressive behavior and rage are rooted in anger. So is depression. Depression is anger swallowed.

The solutions for anger read more like excuses for anger. You have been victimized. You have a right to be angry. Let your anger out. Don’t let it fester inside. But, the only real solution for anger is to become the kind of person who doesn’t get angry.

When Dallas speaks of anger, people almost get, well, angry at him. He makes this statement.

“There is nothing you can do out of anger that can’t be done better without it.”

“But, what about Jesus when he drove out the moneychangers?” you ask.

“I trust Jesus with the anger. I don’t trust us. There are many things I trust Jesus to be able to handle that I don’t trust people to do.”

So, how does one become the kind of person who doesn’t get angry? You can’t attack this directly. “I will not get angry!!” doesn’t work. No, you become the kind of person who realizes your worth comes from your relationship with Jesus. When you are slighted or verbally attacked by someone else, it’s not the end of the world. You are in a perfectly safe place focused on Jesus. I like to take the big picture. In any given situation, one hundred years from now, what difference does it make? And there’s always, “Count to ten…”