He who is slow to anger has great understanding, But he who is quick-tempered exalts folly. (Proverbs 14:29 NASB)
How often have I done this? How often had I been quick to get angry over something without understanding.
Probably more than I would like to admit. But I have done it, as have you. We only need one time to remind us.
Maybe it was something we assumed, or thought we knew the whole picture, but there are times that we allowed our emotions to take control and paid the price for it later.
Either by apologizing, or by other means, we have had to make up our mistake that we have made through anger.
Being home with my family has taught me that nothing is what it seems. It’s better to find out the whole story before I jump to conclusions and there were times where no reprimand was needed.
I have learned that it is wiser to be slow to anger and not always let my emotions take control.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t get angry. We all get angry. Instead of taking it out on anyone that I felt “deserved” it, I go through the motions to calm down.
I slow my roll.
I breathe.
When I have better control of myself (and my mouth) I find out what exactly went wrong and usually learn that it doesn’t require any finger pointing. The situation always calls for something to be solved. Something to understand.
As we go about our Sunday, let us be reminded that we should be slow to anger. Find out what the issues are, and face them.
[Tweet “Approaching problems with anger usually creates more problems.”]
Imagine that sales clerk you were angry at, did they try to appease your anger or did they get angry in return?
Have you learned to be slow to anger? Are you sometimes caught off your guard and you reacted to something without thinking it through? If so, share your thoughts with me in the comments below.
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I am not slow to anger I get angry quickly but it fades fast also. Its one of my downfalls I always get angry without fully getting the entire story.
I fee like me coming here today is a reward from God — a pat on the back. Why? Because today was one of those days where I resisted the temptation to become crazy-bat-lady angry at my husband. Why? Because he made me late for work. Anyhoo, I’m feeling good ‘n proud for staying calm and keeping my mouth shut. I”m going to use today’s victory as a steeping stone to being slow to anger a whole lot more.
Way to go! I’ve been working on my anger, and heaven knows that it has improved over the years! Always getting the full story always helps me out.
I tend to hold a lot in which is not good because that often lead to an outburst – like the lid of a pressure pot blowing off. Recently I’ve seen some improvement though as I remind myself that it is okay to get angry, but do not sin in my moment of anger. God Himself gets angry at us when we do wrong, but His anger is for a moment.
You are so right to mention that we are not to sin in our moment of anger. That is what we sometimes end up doing when we’re hot headed. It is okay to get angry, but not to that point.
I pretty good with my temper (because I know how it can get) but once I do I’m kind of reckless with my mouth. My patience is what I need to work on, especially with close friends and family because what I expect I expect and just can’t get why it wasn’t/isn’t done. ::Sigh:: xoxo A Work in Progress
I need to work on that as well. My expectations of others, and how I hold them to the same level of regard as I do myself. Like you, I am a work in progress. 🙂
This is such a great topic for discussion. I feel like I’m slow to anger, but lately it seems like the more people realize this the more they take advantage. I need to find a better way to make my voice heard without coming off as being short tempered.
I’ve learned that I need to speak up more in order for people to understand where I stand. I may be slow to anger, but I didn’t (and still don’t) like the feeling of being taken advantage of. This is something that I’m learning to do as well. I hate the idea of coming off as “mean” or short tempered, but somehow I have to draw the line in the sand–somewhere.