Responding to Anger

Some people have such wise minds and tranquil spirits that they remain calm and forgiving no matter what the provocation. I'm not like that. Most of us aren't. When someone insults, inconveniences, disappoints, betrays, or annoys us, we tend to get angry.

Maybe it's just a brief irritation. Maybe it's seething resentment. It could become screaming rage, or stony rejection. Often we feel the desire to punish the person who has angered us, even if only in a small way. Return the insult. Refuse to help. Start an argument. Get revenge.

Forgiving Without Regret

by guest contributor Serena

Sam and I had been married nearly ten years when his best friend, Bill, was killed in a horrible accident that involved negligence and led to criminal charges being filed. In addition to the shock and grief felt by everyone who knew Bill, the circumstances were controversial and created some painful divisions within our circle of friends. It was a terrible time.

Just Overlook It

by guest blogger Rev. Rich

If you think about it, there’s something about everyone you know that bugs you. It might be a bad habit they have, it might be the way they do a certain thing, it might even be an attitude that you think they have towards you. Regardless of what it is, you put up with it for that relationship.

Re-read that last sentence. Now, why is it that we are so apt to overlook things that our friends and co-workers do, in order to maintain our relationship with them, but we have trouble doing the same thing with our wife? It would seem to me that love would make it easier to overlook something that doesn’t agree with us; but in most cases, we find more things that bother us in our mates, than we do in our friends. Why is that?