Our Lives Would Be Filled With So Much More Joy; If Anger Was Not An Arrow In Our Quiver!

TheDiscipleMD

From time to time we have all lost our temper. Most of the time upon refection we wish we had not done so. We also find that more often than not, we have become angry over something of little significance.  Later, many of us feel remorse for our feelings and actions but unfortunately, sometimes the damage from our uncontrolled temper is unrepairable.  Gordon B. Hinckley spoke on this matter.  I quote him:

“Once a man who had been slandered by a newspaper came to Edward Everett asking what to do about it. Said Everett, “Do nothing! Half the people who bought the paper never saw the article. Half of those who saw it, did not read it. Half of those who read it, did not understand it. Half of those who understood it, did not believe it. Half of those who believed it are of no account anyway” (“Sunny Side of the Street,” Nov. 1989; see also Zig Ziglar, Staying Up, Up, Up in a Down, Down World [2000], 174).

So many of us make a great fuss of matters of small consequence. We are so easily offended. Happy is the man who can brush aside the offending remarks of another and go on his way.

Grudges, if left to fester, can become serious maladies. Like a painful ailment they can absorb all of our time and attention. (“Slow to Anger”, GC Oct 2007).

I have found that there are many “opportunities” to get offended or situations that come into our lives that can bring us to anger. However, it is rare when I have been found to be “proud” of my behavior after the fact. My son once told of how another car was following too closely behind him, honking wildly and being rather annoying.  Finally my son stopped the car in anger and went back to confront the other driver.  Imagine his embarrassment as he stormed towards the other car only  to find out that it was a friend trying to flag him down to say hello.  Hinckley further counseled us:

“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.

Now……………….. in closing I plead with you to control your tempers, to put a smile upon your faces, which will erase anger; speak out with words of love and peace, appreciation, and respect. If you will do this, your lives will be without regret. Your marriages and family relationships will be preserved. You will be much happier. You will do greater good. You will feel a sense of peace that will be wonderful.”

We would be wise to follow the above counsel. Our lives would be filled with so much more joy if anger was not an arrow in our quiver!

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