Scripture Reference: Proverbs 16:21-33
Stinky? Check your Anger Meter!
Verse 32: He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty…
A couple of years ago, the Lord showed me how unleashing my anger almost always backfires on me. Since, God’s word says that you reap what you sow; you would think that I would try to get the “I” over the “E” when it comes to responding to the emotion of anger. “I” meaning intellect and “E” meaning emotion. I have made more mistakes in relationships than I care to admit by having this simple concept in the reverse form. And, I have always eaten the fruit of my own unharnessed wrath.
On this particular summer evening my husband Ron and I were on our way out of town, and it was a lovely warm twilight ride. We had taken the back roads for some scenery (or at least Ron had); for my nose was firmly planted in a book. This paperback was so interesting that I could not put it down, and since it was the last chapter; I thought I would quickly finish it and satisfy my curiosity as to the final outcome of an intense read.
However, Ron had just about had enough of my ignoring his conversation, and promptly reached over, plucked the book out of my engrossed view and tossed it out the open window.
When the initial shock subsided, I stared at him in disbelief. He did now, however, have my complete attention. I begged him to stop and back up so I could retrieve the book from the hayfield that it had been flung into, and I promised him that I would wait to finish it later. He’s not an Ogre, so of course he stopped, and began to back up to the spot where the novel took flight.
Now this is where the “E” took precedence over the “I”. The flesh in me rose up, and I thought to myself “who does he think he is”, he can’t toss my book out the window and get away with it. Searching the ground, I quickly found and retrieved my treasure, and in the process I also spied the dead carcass of a chipmunk. An evil thought began to take root in my revenge filled heart. I thought awehaa! I’ll take care of him; I’ll throw that dead chipmunk in his lap, the jerk! So I gingerly picked it up by the tail and concealing it by my side I smugly trotted back to the car to carry out my devious plan.
I really do believe that God has a sense of humor in some of the lessons he teaches us. You see I thought that chipmunk was pretty old road kill. I thought it was all dried up and not rancid…But, I was wrong! When I threw that chipmunk through the open window at Ron; he naturally held up his hand to block the assault and, the chipmunk bounced off his hand, and came back and hit me square in the chest, and desinagrated. I had rodent guts all over my shirt, and when it blew apart it released a foul smell along with its entrails. The full impact of what I had just done sank in, and I just stood there in despair and horrified indignation while Ron burst out in laughter at my dilemma. This of course was not the way my plan was suppose to unfold. I was so mad and surprised that I just started to cry.
There is a good moral to this story. You see God in his mercy even prepares us for the outcome. I had put on a long-sleeved shirt over my sleeveless shirt because it was beginning to cool down, so I was able to remove the offense garment, and with some sanitary wipes that we kept in the car; I was no worse for the wear. We were able to continue on, and even laugh; however, the irony of the situation did not escape me. Maybe someone can catch a wiff of that. Anyway...It's just another sandcastle thought by Geani...
