A quick-tempered person does foolish things.
—Proverbs 14:17
Questions we ask ourselves help govern our lives. I’ll post one of those questions for each of the next four days.
Question number one:
Is giving vent to anger going to make this situation better?
Some people can send our anger thermometer sky-high: impossible-to-please bosses and co-workers, crabby salespeople, exasperating know-it-alls, disrespectful children, surly spouses.
Conflict arouses anger that may be justified—but that doesn’t mean it’s wise to yield to it. Our response to anger is sometimes more damaging than the incident that triggered it.
Anger is bad for your health, bad for your mind, and bad for those forced to witness it. It almost always makes things worse—seldom better.
“Refrain from anger and turn away from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil” (Ps 37:8).
One minute of uncontrolled anger
can give birth to years of regret.