ManageYourEmotionsBook8.5x5.5_RevJULY.indd

east of it.There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade . . .” (Jonah 4:5).While preaching and walking through the city for three days wore him out, anger certainly exasperated the issue. Israel’s King Ahab, the husband of Jezebel who served during the time of Elijah, is another example of someone who let anger get the best of him.When he didn’t receive the vineyard he coveted from Naboth the Jezreelite, he went home “sullen and vexed.”There, “He lay down on his bed and turned away his face and ate no food” (1 Kings 21:4). Candidly speaking, on those unfortunate occasions when an- ger has gotten the best of me, I’m physically and emotionally drained at the end of the day.At times, such events rob me of sleep, which only compounds the problem. Left unchecked, as with many other emotions we are exam- ining, anger can even be fatal.Take for example 18 th century British physician John Hunter, a pioneer in his field of medicine, who served as surgeon to King George III and also suffered from angina.Ac- knowledging that his attacks were often brought on by anger, Hunter lamented, “My life is at the mercy of any scoundrel who chooses to put me in a passion.”These words proved prophetic, for at a meeting of the board of St. George’s Hospital in London, Hunter got into a heated argument with other board members, walked out, and dropped dead in the next room. 27 Observe next that anger will cloud your vision .Trying to maintain focus while in a state of anger is like looking at oneself in a steamy mirror.The artist Leonardo daVinci learned this the hard way.While working on his paintingThe Last Supper:

He became angry with a man, lost his temper, and lashed out bitterly at him. Back at his canvas he attempted to continue his work on the face of Jesus but was so upset that he couldn’t compose himself for the delicate task. Finally he put down his brush, sought out the man, and asked his forgiveness.With apology accepted the artist was able to return to his workshop

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