Tired of Living with an Angry Person?
“I used to have a problem with anger.”
We meet a lot of people as we promote Uprooting Anger. A few admit they have a problem. Fewer claim they have overcome anger.
When the former inmate told me he used to have an anger problem, I asked him, “What did you do to get free?” .
Frankly, I doubted that he was free from anger’s bondage. At first I thought he was joking. He didn’t seem like an angry person, but I wondered if he was unrealistic in his self-assessment.
I’ll never forget his response, “I started living with gentle people.”
That’s too simple. I must have misunderstood. I asked him to repeat it, and he said the same thing.
When asked to tell the rest of his story, to explain how God used gentle people, he said, “When I started living with gentle people, I got over my anger.” End of story.
Later, I saw him with his wife and she said the same thing—with no further explanation. He married into her gentle family. Just by living in their midst, he overcame his bondage to anger.
Proverbs 15:11 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath.” I once cross-stitched it, and put it on my refrigerator to help me remember to respond gently to anger.
It works. When I countered with gentleness, tension decreased or vanished.
However, I never dreamed you could overcome anger simply by living among gentle people.
The man didn’t have an explanation of what he’d done to work on anger in his new environment. He simply knew that while living among gentle people, he quit getting angry.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the Lord can use gentleness as a tool to help those we love turn from anger.
After all, gentleness is fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). It makes sense that if our gentleness flows from the Spirit of God, those around us will touched by His power.
A gentle answer turns away wrath. Your gentle lifestyle can be used by God to free someone from the bondage of anger.
If you have a problem with anger, look for gentle people to hang out with.
If gentleness is not your strong suit, ask the Lord for it.
It is a gift of the Spirit, and He delights in giving His children gifts. If you’ve never asked for gentleness, now is a good time.
What has God used to help you overcome anger?