Devotional For Women

Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.

Proverbs 29:11, NLT

Someone said, "Your temper is one of your most valuable possessions. Don’t lose it." Aristotle was right: "Anybody can become angry--that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way--that is not within everybody's power and is not easy." If you can't control your anger, it will control you. "A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls." (Prov. 25:28). Some of the bombs dropped on England by the Germans during World War II are still killing people. Sometimes they are discovered and blow up at construction sites, in fishing nets, or on beaches more than fifty years after the war. Undetected bombs become more dangerous with time because corrosion can expose the detonator. What is true of bombs that are not dealt with is also true of people who have unresolved anger. Buried anger explodes when we least expect it. And when anger explodes, it does all sorts of damage. It severs relationships. It causes ulcers. It leads to murder. When anger is turned inward, it leads to depression. When it is turned outward, it leads to aggression. Anger has to be dealt with, not buried. Anger is like a splinter in your finger. If you leave it there, it gets infected and hurts every time you use your finger. If you remove it, the sore heals and you feel better. Take a moment and confess your anger to God. Defuse the bomb that is ticking inside you. Give it up, and move on. You'll be glad you did. And, all the people around you will be thankful, too.