ANGER IS A KILLER (some ways to handle it without letting it handle you) (2nd in series)

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Indignant but hardly righteous. That describes what we are angry about more times than often.

Let me share three true stories of this kind of temporary insanity to make my point.

Over 100 years ago, 116 to be exact, 107 buildings in the city of Boston burned to the ground.

That was a tragedy, I am sure you will agree, but why it happened is an even greater tragedy.

You see, in the spring of that year, 1894; the Baltimore Orioles had traveled to Boston to play a routine baseball game.

Unfortunately what happened was hardly routine.

John McGraw, the manager of the Baltimore Orioles, got into an argument with the Boston third baseman.

Almost instantly all the players from both teams emptied out onto the field and words soon erupted into fist fights and wrestling matches.

Within minutes the war fare spread to the stands and now it was one big battlefield.

Somehow in the melee the bleachers were set on fire and before the evening was over, the ballpark had been completely destroyed.

From there the fire spread…and yes…you guessed it…
That is how those 107 other Boston buildings burned to the ground.

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Then, there is the account of John Hunter, a great surgeon who pioneered many new surgical techniques.

This brilliant 18th century British physician did however have a terrible, uncontrollable temper.

And he was well aware of it, for he often lamented that, “My life is at the mercy of any scoundrel who chooses to put me in a passion.”

He had literally prophesied his own death, for one day, during a meeting of the Board of St. George’s Hospital, he got into a heated argument with another Board Member.

Red faced and totally out of control, he stormed from the meeting and moments later dropped dead in the next room.

And now the last in this trilogy on anger:
A lady once came to the great evangelist Billy Sunday and tried to rationalize her angry outbursts.

“There’s nothing wrong with losing my temper,” she said, “I blow up, and then it’s all over.”

“So does a shot gun,” replied Billy.

So, what to do to temper our temper?

First, try to remember and apply what my principal in high school used to say several dozen times during the course of a school year, “Words fitly spoken are like apples of gold in pitchers of silver.”

In short, check out our vocabulary.

Learn how to disagree without being disagreeable.

If, when we are at odds with someone we let anger take over, common sense and control go out the window and we just become sarcastic and argumentative.

Second, reconcile it. This is what Jesus did with Peter.

After Peter’s denial, Christ reconciled with him. Certainly was more than willing to love and forgive him.

And therein lays a way of handling anger that is wonderful in its consequence.

It simply says, “You said something that hurt me and now I forgive you…we are reconciled.”

Admitting our humanity, we can become friends again….or a loving husband and wife again….or…

Put it this way. We have a Biblical responsibility to handle conflict truthfully and without rancor. To practice the love Christ talks about when we are on the edge, or over the edge.

No, it is not easy, but it is what we are called on to do. And it is doable - by finding more humility and less pride.

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Each Tuesday there is a continuation of the Serialization of his Internationally distributed novel RUST ON MY SOUL.

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To view an abundance of unusual stories and comments by Neil Wyrick go to his other blog ONE A DAY, YOUR SPIRITUAL VITAMINS

Click on the following URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

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