Thursday, June 7, 2012

Taming A Temper

Bobby Jones began playing golf at the age of five. At twelve he was able to defeat any golfer in his hometown. But he had a major problem: he had a hot temper that caused him some serious problems.

When he was fourteen, he entered the National Amateur Tournament. He had high expectations of winning but he lost this very prestigious event. After things settled down, his Grandpa Bart went to him and said, “You’re good enough to win. But you’ll never win until you control your temper.”

Later in life, when Bobby Jones became a world famous golfer, Grandpa Bart said, “Bobby was fourteen when he mastered golf. But he was twenty-one when he mastered himself.”

“Don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you…for anger gives a mighty foothold to the devil.”

We often become angry when someone does something that displeases us. It can be as simple as someone having too many items in a checkout line at the grocery or as large as a dear friend breaking an important promise or causing us embarrassment. The causes will vary but the result is always the same: the devil is given a “mighty” foothold in our lives. And that always opens the door to bitterness and faultfinding that can damage us and destroy others.

Prayer: Help us, Heavenly Father, to be aware of our emotions that so easily get out of control when we don’t get our own way. Guard and guide us at all times. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Ephesians 4:26-27 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

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