What About Unresolved Anger?

Unresolved anger will not magically disappear but will be transformed into resentment. Anger stored away in memories where solutions are out of bounds clearly identifies resentment. Nurturing negative memories keeps hatred alive. Resentment is analogous to taking a tiger by the tail, realizing the consequence will be disastrous, but still being unable to let it go.

Resentment erodes self-esteem by destroying trust in the ones who should be valued and loved. Resentment kills friendship by destroying the capacity to trust and be honest. How does resentment get such a strong grip on us? Hurt feelings transformed into anger give birth to resentment.

What feeds resentment is the belief that you are being cut off from your desires and happiness. How can you let it go?  

Each time resentment surfaces, ask God to help you let it go. By asking God to give you the will to be forgiving, resentment loses its grip on you. This step opens the door to God’s blessings of security and safety.  

____________ 

A wise man controls his temper. He knows that anger causes mistakes.  

~Proverbs 14:29  The Living Bible

____________

Subscribe to the Attitudes Answers podcast on your favorite podcast platform to hear this and other 2-minute features 3 days every week.

Mankind's Waywardness vs. God's Tolerance

Deception causes pain not only to the victims, but eventually to the perpetrators as well. It’s especially disturbing to be deceived by family members because it destroys trust. Think how Isaac and his son Esau felt when they realized Rebekah the mother and Jacob the younger son conspired to steal Esau’s blessing.

Genesis 27:41 records Esau’s reaction: So, Esau hated Jacob because of what he had done to him. He said to himself, "My father will soon die and then I will kill Jacob.” Have you ever been hurt so deeply? Were Rebekah and Jacob so naive to think Esau would shrug it off and life would continue as usual?

Remember this: God hates sin and never turns his back on it. Esau’s hatred of Jacob created a crisis within the family, so once again Rebekah’s scheming and conniving personality acted to save Jacob. God’s tolerance for our waywardness seems never-ending, but his plans for us will not be sidetracked by sin. He waits patiently for our cooperation.