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Wednesday—April 24 • Unrestrained Anger Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. Psalm 37:8
Several years ago, I heard the story of a young man who was visiting Stone Mountain in Georgia. Stone Mountain looks like a big, smooth-surfaced rock. This young man wasn’t really paying attention as he walked. He sauntered very far out on the rock surface. He didn’t notice an almost imperceptible curvature under his feet. Eventually he found that he had gone down a very steep face. He could not maneuver himself back up, and he started crying for help. A horrified crowd watched as he eventually slipped and hurtled toward the ground beneath. He had passed the point of no return. That’s what it can be like for a person
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who gives full vent to anger. At some point, he will pass the point of no return, where no matter what he tries, he won’t be able to undo the results of his rage. That’s why James warns us to be “slow to speak and slow to become angry.” When we move past the point of return in our rage, the results can be devastating. MIMBS 2 How can you gage if you are creeping toward “the point of no return” in giving in to rage? If you are alert to those warning signs, how can that help you avoid the consequences of unrestrained anger? Daily Reading: Judges 2:10–3:31, Luke 22:14–34, Psalm 92:1–93:5, Proverbs 14:1–2
Thursday—April 25 • Have a Plan "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4:26-27
A story is told about Arturo Toscanini, one of the most acclaimed musicians of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He was intense and perfectionistic. Apparently he also had quite a temper. He often hurled whatever was at hand when he got angry. One day someone in his orchestra hit a sour note. The only thing Toscanini could lay his hands on that day was his very expensive watch. So he grabbed it and threw it to the ground, and it shattered. It was beyond repair. Despite his great anger, his musicians loved him. As a gift to him, they purchased two watches. One was an expensive timepiece to replace the one he had broken. The other was a very cheap watch that
had a note attached saying, “For rehearsals only.” When we foolishly give full vent to our anger, we risk every good thing we’ve gained. Toscanini’s musicians provided a semblance of a plan to keep him from repeating a costly mistake. We need to get to the roots of our anger, but we also need a plan. Having a plan for how we will respond in difficult situations can help us avoid the great consequences of unrestrained rage. MIMBS 2 What is your plan for dealing with situations that make you angry? How has that worked? Daily Reading: Judges 4:1–5:31, Luke 22:35– 53, Psalm 94:1–23, Proverbs 14:3–4
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