Will Rogers lost his life in a plane crash before I was born. However, I have found much common ground with the grand humorist. Indian, poke fun at politicos, infatuated with wanderlust, and in general able to see the humor in various serious situations. Rogers, as do I, saw the humor in the otherwise devastating emotion of anger.
“People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing.” Will Rogers.
Part of the marriage counseling method I use involves helping men and women to recognize and deal with the anger factor in their failing relationship. As a part of this method I share the pic of some of the prisoners I work with. Of the group, three stand out as examples of the danger of failing to learn to control anger. Each of the men in the picture will never leave prison alive. Each had no prior violations of the law. One served as a deacon and all around servant in a very good Bible teaching church, and had raised an outstanding family. One evening his wife of many years told him that she was leaving and he immediately stabbed her several times, killing her instantly. He said to me, “Larry, I don’t know what came over me. If I could take back those ten seconds, I would not be here.”
His brief flight of anger had a very bad landing. His story, with a few variations, is shared by many men and women. Uncontrolled or misdirected anger is at the root of most crimes of violence. The kind of anger that simmers, just under the surface, is the motivator of more, subtle crimes such as abandoning home and family.
Marcus Aurelius nailed it when he wrote, “How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.”
Emerson wrote, “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” The Kiplinger financial letter appropriates the line to wise investing. A paraphrase has it “This angry emotion, like all emotions, is a very good one, if I but know what to with it.”
Here are a few verses for insight in dealing with anger:
Ephesians 4:26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath,” David comments on anger here:
Psalm 4:4 “Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah”
Anger is a good emotion when it is understood, controlled and properly directed. I gather from many passages concerning anger a routine for using anger wisely. Note these few words:
Think. Listen. Pray. Wait. And most important, Forgive=let it go. The word Selah, means to pause and ponder! One word, one thought prior to flying off the handle, may change your life dramatically.
Copyright © 2015 Larry Lilly
Great IT work at Oral Deckard
“People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing.” Will Rogers.
Part of the marriage counseling method I use involves helping men and women to recognize and deal with the anger factor in their failing relationship. As a part of this method I share the pic of some of the prisoners I work with. Of the group, three stand out as examples of the danger of failing to learn to control anger. Each of the men in the picture will never leave prison alive. Each had no prior violations of the law. One served as a deacon and all around servant in a very good Bible teaching church, and had raised an outstanding family. One evening his wife of many years told him that she was leaving and he immediately stabbed her several times, killing her instantly. He said to me, “Larry, I don’t know what came over me. If I could take back those ten seconds, I would not be here.”
His brief flight of anger had a very bad landing. His story, with a few variations, is shared by many men and women. Uncontrolled or misdirected anger is at the root of most crimes of violence. The kind of anger that simmers, just under the surface, is the motivator of more, subtle crimes such as abandoning home and family.
Marcus Aurelius nailed it when he wrote, “How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.”
Emerson wrote, “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” The Kiplinger financial letter appropriates the line to wise investing. A paraphrase has it “This angry emotion, like all emotions, is a very good one, if I but know what to with it.”
Here are a few verses for insight in dealing with anger:
Ephesians 4:26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath,” David comments on anger here:
Psalm 4:4 “Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah”
Anger is a good emotion when it is understood, controlled and properly directed. I gather from many passages concerning anger a routine for using anger wisely. Note these few words:
Think. Listen. Pray. Wait. And most important, Forgive=let it go. The word Selah, means to pause and ponder! One word, one thought prior to flying off the handle, may change your life dramatically.
Copyright © 2015 Larry Lilly
Great IT work at Oral Deckard
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