Friday, September 08, 2006

ReFlection - Managing Anger

My church newsletter has an article on "Right Anger?" by Xu Chunxi. In summary, the writer is pointing out that it is alright to be angry because it is an emotion in human. Biblically, we read that God, Jesus and Paul had angers. Therefore, anger is a "normal feeling". However, we must always keep our anger in check and never allow it to "sin".
Chunxi highlights two verses in the Bible that help us to manage anger:
"In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." Ephesians 4:26
"In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent." Psalm 4:4
In addition to managing yourself, I'm surprised to learn that there is a need to manage others too. We need to initiate peace with people that we know are not happy or against us. This will avoid further conflicts and make our relationship with God right.
By God's grace, there is a need to learn to be slow to anger, listen more and speak less.

Reference: The Beacon, vol 33 no. 4, Sep/Oct 2006 by Paya Lebar Methodist Church