Boiling mad? Scream to God

by Peter Falconer

There are certain things in life that really bring out the worst in all of us. Sometimes what can seem serious may seem trivial to others. Whether it be relationship matters with siblings, an ex-partner or a stranger, all can bring out the worst in our temperament.

By way of example I have recently been trying to train our puppy with mixed results. Despite hours of hard work he continues to litter everywhere, bark whenever he sees people passing by the house and nibbles the wooden furniture in the front room. This has led me to let out expletives much to my shame.

So what do we do about our anger when we are left with no other option other than a short term escape like swearing?

Firstly, we need to acknowledge our anger since this outburst is not an uncontrollable reaction towards a stress factor. Acknowledge it and agree with God on the issue, since anger comes from inside us and is rooted deep within ourselves. The book of Matthew 15:18 states that Jesus said, “The things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.” And from the anger dwelling in our hearts some can commit evil thoughts such as murder, adultery or theft.

The solution to this problem is very simple; David Powlison answers this question in his book titled Anger when he states, “turn away from sin to God’s grace in repentant faith.”

In line with this, there are some helpful questions you can ask yourself in order for you to be able to assess your own anger:

What is the situation? Ask yourself this question first so that you have a clear understanding about the cause of your anger.

How will I react? Reactions may vary depending on the individual. The most common experience when irritated is for you to shout and to vent your anger to someone or something.

What are my motives? Ask yourself this and you’ll know why you are angry. Some people will get angry if they don’t get what they want or if things don’t turn out the way they want them to be. There’s a famous saying which goes, ‘when life gives you lemons, don’t just make a sour face, instead make lemonade.’

What are the consequences? What are the consequences of the way you react. Probably your relationship with others will be strained or may alter the course from which it was previously enjoyed.

These are just guidelines in helping you assess things before you start venting your anger to someone else. Rather than rant to someone else and potentially damage a relationship blow off some steam in private by channeling your anger to God’s grace by way of repentance.


Peter Falconer – About The Author: Peter is a well published sports writer who combines his love of travel to see all the corners of Gods wonderful Earth. He goes everywhere in his worn havaianas flip flops or animal flip flops on a mission to spread love and understanding with all he meets.