Explosive Anger

Steve Tran of Westminster, California, had some roaches in his apartment. He decided that he would set off bug bombs to kill them. The directions on the can said that two would be plenty for his apartment, but he wanted to make sure he got rid of them all. He set off twenty-five of them. When the spray reached the pilot of the stove, it ignited, blasting his screen door across the street, breaking all of his windows, and setting his furniture on fire.

The blast did over $10,000 damage to his apartment building. Asked about the cockroaches, Tran reported, ''By Sunday, I saw them walking around." That story was reported in the Arizona Republic of April 25, 1995. I read it in Leadership Journal with this comment, "As Proverbs 29:11 says, ‘A fool gives full vent to his anger.’”

As we deal with people, we are going to become angry at times. That is true whether you are talking about a husband/wife relationship, parent/child relationship, employee/employer, employee/employee, or Christian/Christian. Jesus warned his disciples, “I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment” (Matt 5:22). Paul added later, “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Eph 4:26).

The commands here mean that first, we are to have control of our anger instead of letting our anger control us. Watch your mouth, check your attitude, sit on your hands, and do not sin.
Moreover, make sure that the day of conflict is also the day of reconciliation. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. Go to your wife, your children, your boss, your co¬worker, or your brother in Christ. Forgive where there needs to be forgiveness. Confront in love where confrontation is necessary, but do not put it off. Here's a good rule. If the damage done by the other individual is bad enough to make you angry, it is bad enough to deal with immediately. If it is not bad enough to deal with now, it is not bad enough to make you angry so get over it and go on in love. That’s Life at Work.