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10 May 2011
Proverbs 12:16 says, “A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.”
Have you ever been so angry you thought you were going to explode? It is like you can feel the anger rising up inside of you. What should you do when you feel anger rising up? Should you just let it explode like a volcano?
(Hold up box of Hot Tamales.) I love Hot Tamales. (Begin to eat candy.) Does anybody else like Hot Tamales? (Begin to hand out candy slowly while you preach.) When I think about Red Hot Tamales, it makes me think of “Red Hot Temper.”
Some people have really short fuses. They blow up at every little thing. The Bible calls these people fools. Proverbs 12:16 says, “A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.” A prudent man is a wise man. If somebody insults you, you are a wise man if you overlook it and forgive him. If you just let your temper fly, you look like a fool.
Have you ever been in the grocery store and seen a kid throwing a temper tantrum because his mom wouldn’t buy him a candy bar? What does that kid look like? A fool. Do other kids want to be his friend? I don’t think so. In fact, a good plan to not have any friends is just to let your temper fly whenever you feel like it.
Some of you have figured out that if you throw a big enough fit you can get mom to give you what you want. Have you ever done that? It seems like you got what you wanted so you won the game, but really you lost. You allowed anger to take control and you looked like a fool. You might get to do the thing you wanted to do, but nobody wants to be your friend. It doesn’t have to be that way. If you have a short fuse you can change.
If you feel like you are about to explode you can just stop and wait till you calm down. You control yourself. Never let anger take control of your life.
Buy enough Hot Tamales to hand out to the kids after class. When you are handing them out say this to them, “You control your anger, don’t let anger control you.”