BELLA VISTA — A Quaker was milking his cow. He got about halfway through, and the cow kicked over the bucket of milk. The man quietly shook his head, picked up the bucket and started again. He had just about finished when the cow kicked over the milk bucket again.

The man went around to the front of the cow and gave her a good talking to. He said to the cow, "Thou knowest I am a Quaker, thou knowest I cannot lose my temper, but have you forgotten I can sellthee to a Baptist?"

Please don't misunderstand, I am not picking on Baptists - I come from that background. I am reminding us all to be careful with anger. Have you ever noticed anger is just one letter short of danger?

The Scriptures remind us to be angry and sin not. In other words, we are to control our anger. There are some things that should make you angry. If you see someone being mistreated, you should get angry. Where there is injustice or hatred, youshould get angry. Jesus got mad when the temple was being abused.

He also got mad when the disciples would not let the children come tohim. The key is control and positive use of your anger. Let anger motivate you to a positive response.

In the book of James we are told, "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires."

When we are out of control with anger, we say and do things we regret. We can hurt others and ourselves. Jesus warned us of the dangerof anger in the Sermon on the Mount, his longest sermon, when he said, "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment."

When you feel you are losing control of your anger, what do you do?

The first thing is to ask God to help you calm down. Go to another room and share your deepest feelings with God. Pray for his Spirit to produce calmness and peace in your life.

Stop for a moment and ask yourself, "Is this situation worth me losing my cool? Will what I am about to say help this situation or inflame it?"

I have never met anybody who regretted controlling their anger, but I have talked to a lot of people who said they wish they could take some things back. With God's help, we can use our anger to help others and control our temperament.

I'm pressing on. What about you?

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Thad Moore is pastor of Bella Vista Community Church.

Religion, Pages 17 on 09/23/2009

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