A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under
control (Proverbs 29:11).
The marketplace can be a pressure-packed world. The demands that are often
put upon us can bring out things that we never knew were there. Sometimes we
begin to think that the source of that pressure is to blame for our response
to the pressure. It could be an event, a spouse, a boss, a client, a child,
or even a driver who cuts us off in traffic.
I recall responding to a close friend one time, “If you had not done that, I
would never have responded that way.” Later I learned that this response had
little truth to it. We all choose to get angry. No one else is to blame for
our anger.
“The circumstances of life, the events of life, and the people around me in
life, do not make me the way I am, but reveal the way I am.” Dr. Sam Peeples
This simple quote has had a profound impact on how I view my anger now.
Anger only reveals what is inside of me. I can’t blame anyone but me for my
response to a situation. I later learned that anger is only the symptom of
something else that is going on inside of me. This quote now resides on my
refrigerator door as a daily reminder of the truth about my response to
life’s situations.
It has been said that anger is like the warning panel on the dash of your
car. It is the light that tells you something is going on under the hood and
we need to find out what it is the source of the problem. I discovered that
the source of anger is often unmet expectations or personal rights. We
believe we are entitled to a particular outcome to a situation. When this
doesn’t happen it triggers something in us. At the core of this is fear,
often a fear of failure or rejection. Fear of what others think. Fear of the
unknown.
If you struggle with anger ask God the source of that anger. Ask Him to heal
you of any fears that may be the root of your anger. Ask God to help you
take responsibility for your response to difficult situations.
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