Life Lessons- Anger

Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

My best friend Devri came into work today and she said, “Debbie, i did something that i shouldnt have done. I sent a letter to my in laws and told them how worthless they are and how i hate them and never want to see the again.” Those werent her exact words but those are not fit for me to write but the gist is the same.

She has let her anger for her in laws burn for 20+ years. Now one would think that she should feel better now right? Nope, she doesnt. She says she feels worse. That is what anger does to a person. It burns you from the inside and destroys you and really, does nothing to the other person!

Her in laws already know how she feels about them. The letter is only going to give them more ammunition to use against her to make her even more miserable. So what did she accomplish by being angry? Nothing! Nothing except for 20+ years of feeling miserable.

Anger makes us miserable. Certainly there is a righteous type anger that one can feel when something happens to an innocent child or person or animal or whatever. There is a rising up of emotion that is talked about and then it goes away or is turned into something productive. Anger that is against another person for something that they have done or said against you, does nothing but destroy you!

I have seen the misery that it causes first hand in close family members. Never happy for very long, always on a short fuse and blowing up at the slightest thing. Why, because they have a fire burning inside of them!

Think of each insult as a cup of gas. If you are angry and you are consumed with the fire of it, every cup of gas makes you explode even more, makes the flame burn hotter and it consumes more of you. Now, what happens if gas is thrown on a barren pit with no fire in it? nothing! sure it might cause some irritation but it doesnt do near the harm as when there is already fire present!

Stop and think for a few minutes about the anger that you are carrying around in you for people who have been or are in your life. Is your hating them doing any harm to them? Throw a cup of fire in an empty pit and it burns out in seconds! Your anger doesnt hurt them, it only hurts you! YOU give that person great control over your life! YOU allow them to throw gas on you and destroy you! The choice is yours!

If nothing else, think of all the pleasure that they get from throwing gas on you and watching you burn! Is it worth it? Is it worth their pleasure for your pain? Anger is an emotion in which you are in control of. You allow yourself to dwell on and be offended by what someone say to you or about you. You control the fire inside, they control the fuel! Put out the fire and their fuel is worthless.