Successfully Managing Our Anger

There are several large theme parks in Orlando, Florida that draw thousands of vacationing families each year. However, in this article, it lists Orlando as the number two city in America displaying the most anger. Their findings were based on things like violent assaults, road rage, and the percentage of men who had high blood pressure.

In Daniel 3:13, we read that King Nebuchadnezzar, “in rage and fury,” commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego be brought before him because they would not worship the gold image he had set up. When he didn’t get his way, the text says he was “full of fury, and the expression on his face changed” toward the three men (Daniel 3:19).

As Christians, we all struggle with anger at times. However, anger is not always wrong. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:26: “Be angry, and do not sin.

For example, we should get angry when we see injustice in our world, but often our anger, like Nebuchadnezzar’s display of anger, comes from a far less noble place — our own self-interest and pride. If our temper gets the best of us, we can lose control of what we say and do. Paul challenges us to: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Philippians 2:3).

When we learn to put others first, we’ll find that we have taken the first step toward managing our anger.

Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets

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