How I Stopped Being Angry All the Time

One of the best “life lessons” I’ve ever learned came out of my divorce in 1996.  Back then, I was angry a lot!  I was told that it was a primary reason that my wife left me.  She thought it was just a matter of time before my anger turned into physical abuse.  Now, that would have never happened.  But looking back, I can see why she felt that way.  I made her fearful; and fear is fear, whether I think the reasons for it are rational or not.

Now Anger is not necessarily a bad thing. Even Jesus got angry when he flipped over the tables of the money-changers in the temple  (Matthew 21:12-13).  But His was a purposeful, meaningful anger; and more importantly, He knew exactly what he was doing.  Me?  I was out of control.   When I say I was angry, I don’t mean just being a little grouchy or ornery.  I certainly didn’t have a righteous anger like Jesus.  No, I was out-of-control, yelling at the top of my lungs, stomping around, pounding the table, and breaking things angry.  I was like this on a very regular basis (especially at home).  That kind of anger (was) is a problem.  And it usually ended with me coming back later feeling shame or guilt.

So I did some soul-searching.  I asked myself the most important question:  Continue reading “How I Stopped Being Angry All the Time”