Controlling Your Temper
Proverbs 22:24-25 NIV
"Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared."
If you ask my husband now, he will tell you that I have nowhere near the built-up anger within me that I used to have. Though some days are still a struggle, it is through our Lord Jesus Christ, and my desire to mirror his life in my own, that I have found a new type of self-control that I have never had before. While I am a firm believer that anger is not hereditary, my genes tend to be a little deceiving. I come from a long line of wonderful, yet hot-tempered people. However, I do believe that, though anger runs through my pedigree, it is not because it is in our blood but because we saw it, learned it, and chose to be that way. We didn't know any other way to handle things than to get angry in the heat of the moment. Human behavior is learned, but the good news is that it can also be unlearned.
When we look at the life of Jesus, he was patient, he was loving, he was compassionate, he was gracious. If we choose to live angry, like I did, we are choosing to abort our mission of reflecting the life of Jesus in our own. As Christians, we are supposed to be aiming to live a life in likeness with Christ our Saviour. If we are going to come anywhere near doing that, we need to look at his character for how we should act. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote in his teachings that we should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (James 1:19). In doing so, we are able to listen to everything someone is telling us and take the time to react properly, instead of blowing up in the heat of the moment. It is important that, if we are having a hard time with our temper, we take a step back and evaluate who we are allowing to influence us. Jesus was uninfluenced and did only what the Father told him to. Find yourself some friends that also desire to please God and live righteously. Go to church, if you aren't already, and get involved in Bible Study, women's groups, men's groups, or even youth groups. If you need support in any way, reach out to me and I will do what I can to encourage you and help you find the people that you need in your life.
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