3 Ways to Manage your Anger

Yesterday, I got upset. No, I got angry. The kind of anger where you throw up your hands and storm away from the person who ticked you off. Many people feel guilty about feeling angry. However, it is a God-given emotion. It occurs when you feel that someone has wronged you. Ephesians 4:26-27 gives you guidance about how to handle anger: "'Be angry, and do not sin': do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil." While it's natural to feel angry, it can become sin when you seek revenge, plot harm against the other person, or otherwise play games of "get them back." In the How to Stop Binge Eating online course, we cover the process of managing anger. We learned that certain physical and emotional states put you most in danger of binge eating, and anger is one of them. The combination that makes you most vulnerable is when you are physically wired (tense) + mentally negative. We call those Quadrant #2 emotions. To make it easy for students to remember, I advise them to stay out of the "doo" of #2! Here is the strategy to manage anger: 1. Relieve the physical tension associated with it. 2. Manage your negative thoughts. 3. Resolve the conflict with the other person whenever possible. We discuss specific strategies on how to relieve physical tension and resolve conflict in more detail in the course, but I want to give you some scriptures to use as guidance whenever you are angry:

• Psalm 4:4-5 "Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,

And put your trust in the Lord."

• Luke 6:27-28 "'But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you."

• Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

In my case, the person with whom I was angry made it easy to forgive them; they followed me and apologized, which I accepted. But in most cases, you will need God's help to manage anger in a way that resolves the issue and restores peace with the other person. The most important thing is to allow God's word to guard your heart and guide your actions. In that way, you can feel anger when it happens, but do not sin - glorifying God in the process! Be Blessed in Health, Healing, and Wholeness! Kimberly Taylor Take Back Your Temple takebackyourtemple.com