Authentic discipleship is the surest way to counter the pervasive anger that is overtaking our communities and politics. Even more importantly, authentic discipleship is the best way to share the gospel’s truth—to live as disciples, to share our light and, in turn, the Savior’s light. In marketing terms, it is called “living our brand.”
If you want to gather honey, don't kick over the beehive.
Anger is the mother of a whole brood of evil actions.
Happy is the man who can brush aside the offending remarks of another and go on his way.
Anger may be justified in some circumstances. The scriptures tell us that Jesus drove the moneychangers from the temple, saying, “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13). But even this was spoken more as a rebuke than as an outburst of uncontrolled anger.
If you speak when angry, you’ll make the best speech you’ll ever regret.
Since we cannot wash someone clean with our forgiveness, the only thing we can do with our forgiveness is cast off the burden of anger we carry. Much is written about how to cast off the burden of anger. However, what if there was no anger in the first place? There is no burden to cast off if the burden was never picked up. We can avoid the need to forgive if we avoid the tendency to be offended.
Not being offended might seem much harder than being offended and then letting go of the anger, but I don’t think so. I think the longer we carry a grudge, the harder it is to let it go. It becomes our security blanket, our protection from ever being hurt again, our evidence that we were wronged, and our way of reminding the offender that he has offended us. It’s difficult to let go of that security blanket, once we become attached to it. It might just be easier, not to wrap ourselves in the grudge in the first place.
Man’s forgiveness means that we let go of our anger, refuse to hold a grudge, that we don’t try to punish the sinner with our emotions.
If we had different words for the two types of forgiveness the scripture that reads “I The Lord will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men,” could read, “I the Lord will absolve whom I will absolve, but of you it is required to relinquish bitter feelings towards all men.” When the Lord forgives, he absolves, when men forgive, they relinquish.
Chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel teaches key attributes of Christ that we can emulate: “Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious. It is the ability to do God’s will and accept His timing. When you are patient, you hold up under pressure and are able to face adversity calmly and hopefully”
Anger can be very corrosive mentally and physically. It releases a flood of cortisol and adrenaline, causing our muscles to tense and our heart rate to increase. High levels of cortisol and adrenaline can destroy the judgment area of neurons in the brain and our short-term memory. They can also weaken our immune system.
Yielding to emotions such as anger or hurt or defensiveness will drive away the Holy Ghost.
The cause of anger is the belief that we are injured; this belief, therefore, should not be lightly entertained. We ought not to fly into a rage even when the injury appears to be open and distinct: for some false things bear the semblance of truth. We should always allow some time to elapse, for time discloses the truth.
What’s interesting is that we are incapable of being angry and grateful simultaneously.
What do various expressions of anger have in common? They all say one thing: You are not following my rules for the universe.
But anger is not effective. Anger does not motivate the kind of change we want. Sure, we may get compliance. The girl may push clothes into the closet and the boy may hide his thievery. But we don’t win cooperation. We don’t change hearts. Quite the opposite. We injure hearts. We create distance and resentment. It sends a message that I value you only when you do things my way.
Research clearly shows that anger is bad for our health; it multiplies our health risks. It is also bad for our relationships; it hurts and insults the people who matter most to us. Anger also makes us into fools: it narrows our thinking and shuts off our compassion. Most of us don’t do our best work when our hearts and minds are shut down and our souls are guided by reptilian responses. As a prominent researcher on anger exclaims: “Anger kills!”
Because we have automated our anger, we usually don’t recognize that anger is not a necessary reaction to any situation. It is the result of our interpretation. We may not recognize that we can actually forego anger. We can choose not to be mad. For example, we have forgiven careless words because they came from well-meaning friends. We let a person crowd into traffic because we felt gracious and maybe we liked them.
Maybe the boy was just forgetful. But when we get angry, we see only one thing: the offence. We lose the broader view that might help us understand what else is happening in the other person’s life. Instead of seeing a child who makes mistakes and faces struggles, we see an insurgent, a problem, a nuisance. We have neither understanding nor compassion for the offender.
What do we do to prevent anger from taking us hostage? A little reflection will tell you what works for you. Consider the following: 1. We can keep peace and compassion in our hearts. What helps you to push nagging discontent from your soul? What brings you peace? 2. We can recognize irritation as an invitation to set aside our agenda and enter the mind and heart of the person who is irritating us. How can you program yourself to react differently to irritation? 3. We can think how we would respond to Jesus. How can you see Jesus in every person? 4. We can pray for heavenly mercy. “O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me.” Find ways to reprogram your mind and heart so that anger has no place in your soul.
Anger is the devil's cocaine.
Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.
An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life... ""A fight is going on inside me,"" he said to the boy. ""It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. ""One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego. ""The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. ""This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."" The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, ""Which wolf will win?"" The old chief simply replied, ""The one you feed.""
Every once in a while, I get mad. 'The Lorax' came out of my being angry. The ecology books I'd read were dull... In 'The Lorax,' I was out to attack what I think are evil things and let the chips fall where they might.
The size of a man may be measured by the size of the things that make him angry.
Anger begins with folly and ends with repentance.
Everywhere and always, when human beings either cannot or dare not take their anger out on the thing that has caused it, they unconsciously search for substitutes, and more often than not they find them.
The greatest remedy for anger is delay.
When you give a lesson in meanness to a critter or a person, don't be surprised if they learn their lesson.
"Don't do something permanently stupid because you are temporarily upset"
Authentic discipleship is the surest way to counter the pervasive anger that is overtaking our communities and politics. Even more importantly, authentic discipleship is the best way to share the gospel’s truth—to live as disciples, to share our light and, in turn, the Savior’s light. In marketing terms, it is called “living our brand.”
Missing Reference