April 27
The Heat in
the Kitchen
Do not be eager
in your heart to be angry, for anger resides in the bosom of fools.
Ecclesiastes 7:9
We had asked two of our teenagers to clean the kitchen together. The
first time I inspected their work, I found them arguing about who had
done the most. I asked them kindly to keep working.
When I returned, they were bickering about who should sweep the floor.
I intervened, got them quieted down and encouraged them to finish the
job.
Finally -- the third time -- after I'd inspected their halfhearted, mediocre
work, they gave me the lame excuse that they didn't really know what a
clean kitchen should look like! My teenagers had been overtaken by some
alien from another planet who had never seen a kitchen, let alone a
clean one!
That did it. This normally unflappable dad flipped.
I went on a tirade about how disrespectful and disobedient they were. I
flung a handy box of tissues at their feet in a burst of unsanctified
rage. Then I stormed out the front door, slamming it shut behind me.
Standing there on the front porch, two profound thoughts came to me.
The first: It's really cold out here. Why are they in there warm? I own
this house -- they don't! But the second thought pierced me in places
deeper than the cold could reach: My
anger has gotten the best of me, and I'm acting like a foolish child.
I don't recall the exact words of the apology I gave to my children.
But I do recall coming to an important realization: If I'm going to help these
kids grow up emotionally and know how to appropriately express their
anger, then I need to grow up myself.
God never said we shouldn't get angry. But He did warn us not to let
anger turn into sin. Or as Proverbs 14:29 cautions, "He who is
slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quickly-tempered
exalts folly" (see also James 1:19).
Discuss
What specific
situations have set you off lately? See if you can isolate the main
culprits and flashpoints. What is it that makes you lose it?
Pray
Pray that your
heart will not be eager to be angry, that being "slow to
anger" will be more your speed.
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