Illustrations Page 9

Title: Anger

  I have heard

 I have heard that if a rattlesnake is cornered, it can become so frenzied that it will accidentally bite itself with its deadly fangs. In the same way, when a person harbors hatred and resentment in his heart, he is often hurt by the poison of his own malice.  He thinks he is injuring his enemies by displaying his wrath, but the real harm is inflicted deep within his own soul.

   Anger can also cause us to do and say things we may deeply regret. George W. Martin tells the following true story:  “I remember a fellow who once wrote a nasty letter to his father.  Since we worked in the same office, I advised him not to send it because it was written in a fit of temper.  But he sealed it and asked me to put it in the mail. Instead, I simply slipped it into my pocket and kept it until the next day.  The following morning he arrived at the office looking very worried. George,' he said, I wish I had never sent that note to my dad yesterday.  It hurts me deeply, and I know it will break his heart when he reads it.  I’d give 50 dollars to get it back!’  Taking the envelope from my pocket, I handed it to him and told him what I had done.  He was so overjoyed that he actually wanted to pay me the 50 dollars!”

Proverbs 15:1   A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.See:  Prov 15:1; Prov 29:11; Jam 1:19-20

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