Don’t Let It Percolate!

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Matthew 5:22

Years ago, our family used a percolator to make the morning coffee. This “coffee maker” was light years behind the pods and other varieties of today. The percolator worked by using gravity and a process called percolation to brew coffee. You would place the coffee grounds in a metal basket at the top, add water to the bottom of the pot, and place it on the stove on high. The water at the bottom heats up and boils which creates steam bubbles. The steam bubbles in turn push the hot water up the tube in the middle of the pot, over the coffee grounds, and back into the bottom part of the pot. When the process is finished, we would put the stove on simmer and enjoy fresh coffee.

Just like the steam rises in the percolator in order to make coffee, sometimes in this day and time, we have many things that cause the steam or anger in ourselves to rise. Anger is defined as a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility. During this day and time, many of us experience anger on a daily basis. Anything from folks texting while driving, to political ads and speeches, to unrest in our world, to simple everyday occurrences that can send us over the edge.

It is a proven fact that people who struggle with anger are five times more likely to suffer with coronary heart disease and/or suffer a heart attack because they can get so angry. This kind of anger is usually associated with folks who are quick tempered, react swiftly, and many times stupidly, instead of letting things defuse slowly and sensibly.

The first mention of anger in the Bible is when Cain got so angry with his brother, Abel, that he murdered him. God says in Epheisians Don’t sin by letting your anger control you.” The word anger is only one letter away from the word danger. The truth is that once we let anger get the best of us, it reveals the worst in us.

The first thing about anger is that it is stupid. Benjamin Franklin wrote in Poor Richard’s Almanac: “Take this advice from Richard poor and lame; Whatever’s begun in anger ends in shame.”

Next, anger is devisive. Occasionally we become angry for a good reason, but most of the time it’s because we are irritated, impatient, or hurt about the way we’ve been treated. Will Rogers once said, “People who fly into a rage seldom make a good landing.”

Finally, anger is destructive. We usually pay the penalty for the actions we commit in the midst of anger. Things such as losing friends, losing the love and respect of our family, losing business associates, and losing our health. The psychologist John Hunter who suffered from a severe heart conditon once said, “My life is at the mercy of the person who can make me angry…the first scoundrel who gets me angry can kill me!”

Proverbs tells us that he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty. One of the fruits of the spirt is self control, and that means that as a Christian, one can control the anger. Anger is much like a river in that if it’s controlled, it can generate enough electricity to power a city, but if it is uncontrolled, it can overflow its banks, become a raging flood, and destroy everything in its path.

Not everything in life is worth a burst of anger. Just like the percolator when it is on high, our tempers can heat up and boil over, but if we turn down the heat and simmer down, we can enjoy life. Remember to count to ten before speaking when we are angry. Then, if we are really angry, don’t say anything!

As we face this new season of differences of opinion, choices, and values, remember don’t let it percolate into some words or actions that will cause regret!