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CHAPTER
27
ANGER
IT
DOES no good to be angry. A man feels no better for it. It is really a torment,
and when the storm of passion has cleared away, it leaves a person to see that
he has been very unwise and has made himself a fool in the eyes of others. Sinful
anger, when it becomes strong, is called wrath; when it makes outrages, it is
fury; when it becomes fixed, it is termed hatred; and when it intends to injure
any one, it is called malice. All these wicked passions spring from anger. The
continuance of anger and frequent fits of ill temper produce an evil habit in
the soul, a propensity to be angry, which oftentimes ends in ire, bitterness,
and morosity, when the mind becomes ulcerated, peevish, and querulous, and like
a thin, weak plate of iron, receives impressions, and is wounded by the least
occurrence. A
fit of passion may give you cause to mourn all the days of your life. What crime
has not been committed in the paroxysms of anger? Has not the friend slain his
friend? the son murdered his parents? the creature blasphemed his Creator? Who
wishes for s neighbor or a partner in business a person given to anger? One
feels as if one were living next door to a hornet’s nest or a rabid animal.
What is gained by anger? Will a bad temper draw customers, pay notes, or make
creditors any better? Friendship,
domestic happiness, self-respect, the esteem of others, and sometimes property
are swept away by a whirlwind, perhaps a tornado, of anger. I have seen anger
make wives unhappy, alienate husbands, spoil children, derange all harmony, and
disturb the quiet of a whole neighborhood. Anger, like too much wine, hides us
from ourselves but exposes us to others. Some
people seem to live in a perpetual storm. Our advice is to keep cool under all
circumstances. We should learn to command our feelings and to act prudently in
all the ordinary concerns of life. This will better prepare us to meet sudden
emergencies with calmness and fortitude. If we permit our feelings to be ruffled
and disconcerted in small matters, they will be thrown into a whirlwind when big
events overtake us. Our best antidote is salvation. “He
that is slow to anger is better than the mighty: and he that ruleth his spirit
than he that taketh a city” (Proverbs 16:32). “He that is soon angry dealeth
foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated” (Proverbs 14:17). “A
wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth
strife” (Proverbs 15:18). “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous
words stir up anger” (verse 1).
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