When You Feel Angry

I was at work the other day and I had a customer curse me out over a pack of cigarettes that I refused to sell him. Can you believe that? I was called a name, that I will not repeat, over something that costs $3.63. I stood there and got so angry, that I wanted to go outside and beat the brakes off this man. Then I thought about it and realized that he must already have a sad existence if a pack of cigarettes means that much to him. I also realized that anger is not something that falls in line with the way God wants me to live my life. (James 1:19-20) My dear brothers and sisters, always be willing to listen and slow to speak. Do not become angry easily, because anger will not help you live the right kind of life God wants. Anger robs you of your joy and it robs you of your blessings. It's a way of letting the devil in and of you losing out. (Ephesians 4:26-27) When you are angry, do not sin, and be sure to stop being angry before the end of the day. Do not give the devil a way to defeat you. Anger shows that we have lost control, even if for a split second. We have lost our ability to listen to reason. It shows that we cannot listen to advice or even to reason. When we are slow to speak, it does not mean that we are weak. It shows that we are not going to let someone who has no joy, steal our joy. I know it is so much easier to go off on somebody and sometimes no matter how hard we try to keep a peaceful tongue, we end up going off. But as Christians, we need to try to do the best we can and be slow to speak and slow to anger. Words are just that, words. They do not define us as a person. (Proverbs 12:16) Fools quickly show that they are upset, but the wise ignore insults. (Romans 12:17-19) If someone does wrong to you, do not pay him back by doing wrong to him. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. Do your best to live in peace with everyone. My friends, do not try to punish others when they wrong you, but wait for God to punish them with his anger. It is written: "I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them," says the Lord. So the next time you're tempted to say or do something out of anger, remember that Scripture tells us to wait on God to punish those who have wronged us. I know that as humans, we are emotional creatures, and it's easier to react than it is to think and remain calm. But we will be only hurting ourselves because we are giving power to the ones that made us angry. We should not give them that power over us. As Christians we need to rise above it all and put those things out of our lives. (Colossians 3:8) But now also put these things out of your life: anger, bad temper, doing or saying things to hurt others, and using evil words when you talk. A deep personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ will transform every area of our lives. He is there waiting. All we need to do is make the first step. God bless you all.