Weekly Devotion | January 16, 2025
Anger Snowball
I don’t know how it happens. Last night, I ate a balanced dinner, watched a favorite movie, and slept well. This morning, I beat my alarm clock by 5 minutes and felt good. Ordinarily, I’m ready to get the day started even if I wake up early. However, today something was off. I started to feel an anger snowball rolling into an avalanche.
The automatic coffee maker starts at 6am, but I was up 5 minutes early. I had to wait for a cup…hmmm. I opened my computer and checked in on Facebook. The program or algorithm that anticipates (manipulates) things I like to see, fed me a stream of pseudo-science, half-baked religious commentary, Morgan County gossip, and political drivel. Grrrrr. The product that social media provides is really poor quality. I’m about ready to pull the plug. And the anger snowball continued downhill…
I won’t share the details of the rest of the morning because it’s not my family’s fault, it was just an ordinary morning for them. Suffice to say anything that my family said to me felt critical, insulting, and rude to me. I took a run on the treadmill and calmed down. I apologized for my reactions and moved on with my morning. It just was not a good morning.
I think we’ve all felt something like this. Our snowball of anger can take a while to grow or it can abruptly roll downhill and cause an avalanche. How do we cope with this?
Some scriptures are helpful here. James reminds us that we “…should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” (James 1:19–20) Slow down when anger comes. Take a deep breath, a personal time out.
The apostle Paul tells his congregation in Ephesus, “Be angry and do not sin.” (Ephesians 4:26 ESV) Anger itself is not a sin, but what we do with it can lead to sin. That is why historically the church teaches that wrath/vengeance is one of the seven deadly sins, not anger.
When anger comes, consider what is causing it. Why does someone’s comment about you stir such emotion. Could they be correct? Be willing to learn why the anger is triggered in you. Pray for the spiritual gifts of self-control and patience to consider where you can grow and learn.
Anger is a complicated emotion. Take time to consider it’s causes and pray for God to help you through it to find peace.
Peace,
