Monday, December 08, 2008

Dealing With Anger - Constructively


PLEASE NOTE I AM NOT TARGETING ANYONE SPECIFICALLY IN THIS POST. Lots of people struggle with anger! Problems with anger continue to be a recurring struggle for many people whom I have met throughout my ministry. The Bible is clear and simple with regards to anger: "In your anger do not sin..." (Ephesians 4:26a) In a nutshell, Scripture teaches that anger is inevitable in our lives (and sometimes it can even be employed for good: i.e. getting "angry" at injustice, poverty, etc.), but it is no excuse to sin.

One of my favorite quotes on the subject is from Frederick Buechner: Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back -- in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.

I stumbled on this article that offered some great counsel on dealing with your anger (not that I agree with everything in the article)...especially with regards to "cognitive restructuring." If you have a problem with anger or know someone who does, check it out at: http://www.apa.org/topics/controlanger.html



No comments: