Testing, Anger…oh darn!

Saturday night I decided to drive over to our neighborhood course and try one of the fairway woods I have had my eye on for a while. I sold mine a few months ago and can’t seem to find one that I want. As I was walking out of the Pro shop, and a friend of mine was walking in to get a bucket of balls. It was later in the day so there were not very many people there and we were the only two on the range. We talked for a while and he asked if I wanted to play the next day in the late afternoon and I said I would need to check in with my better half, but it probably would be fine.

I mentioned to my boy who I was going to play with and he decided he was in. My friend is a math teacher at the middle school that he would be attending this Monday so he wanted him as a teacher. We began our round and as we began walking off the second hole it happened, a group behind us that we didn’t see slipped in front of us. As they were going to the t-box hitting away I asked in my best imitation of nice, “hey guys, what’s goin’ on?” They began telling us that we were to slow and that we couldn’t hit the ball and so on, all while they themselves were not even getting off the t-box. They began the golf course language, you know the stuff, “F you A hole, we asked you if we could get by you, and you didn’t say anything etc…”  They were not only rude but just ticked off. Now, if you don’t know me, twenty years ago I would have been throwing punches at the guy. My friend just looked at me when I said to the guys, “hey man I’m sorry, none of us heard you say anything to us, we would have gladly let you go through, but we didn’t hear you”, as they continued with the f u’s and all the other colorful language, as I continued to apologize to them. My friend said, “wow, you really have changed those guys were idiots and deserve to be kicked off the course.” The other person we were golfing with began to call the pro-shop and complain, but my 13 year old boy said something that I was not only proud of, but showed a sign of maturity. He said, “Who cares, let it go, I just want to play golf”.

I began to think of those times that Jesus had been insulted, and the apostle Paul and how walking with integrity can look to others. You see, my friend couldn’t believe that I didn’t get upset. But, I half to confess, I was angry, I had just learned to control the anger. Paul says to his readers in Ephesians 4:26 “In your anger do not sin”. If you have learned as I have that when you become angry and let it brew, your blood pressure rises and the blood begins to leave your brain and your body begins to get into protection mode. So what happens to us when we become angry and do not control it, your mind can not make logical decisions because of the lack of blood in your brain. That blood is being pumped into your muscles to get you ready for the strength you will need for your protection. I always wondered why I was in so many fights as a kid and young adult. It is because I did not learn to control my anger.

Many of us have had or struggle with anger issues. I know with many of the guys that I teach at our local mission, they have to go to anger management classes. Many of the men struggle with it like an addiction. I have learned a lot from the men and continually have to be an example to them on this very issue. So I have learned to discipline myself in this area that I have struggled with most of my life. I still have a lot of work to do, but I have come a long way. Sunday was a great example to myself, knowing that the time I have spent working in this area and the regular study of God’s truth, that the power of God’s word and the activation of His spirit in my life has truly made an impact on how I “react” or better yet “respond” to others.

Just remember the next time you become angry, that people are watching you as a “Christian” and they judge us on our response to others. Anger can be a good thing also. Just look at all of the different laws, legislation, ministries etc…that are birthed out of anger to do something good in our communities and our culture. So, next time you become anger, you have a choice, is it to make a change in our culture or to hurt someone?