“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” ― Ambrose Bierce

I enjoy reading fan posts online after the game. Sometimes it helps me manage my own ranting. Do you think our reactions – the kind we keep hidden and those we hang out on the laundry line – reveal much about who we are right now? Do you think being a bit reflective about what bothers us and how we respond might help sometimes?

Probably, misery loves company. That’s why I like reading the comments from all the other people who are so angry about that dumb play call in the 4th quarter.

Sometimes, anger is really a steamed up broken heart that can’t figure out how to solve the problem. We all know, you can’t make people change until they want to. But we keep on trying, don’t we? Our angry outbursts are sometimes sourced in disappointment (at others and especially ourselves).

“I sat with my anger long enough until she told me her real name was grief.” ― C.S. Lewis

Maybe you’re really mad about something bigger? Something that’s waaaaay out of your control. The economy, your adult children, traffic, the weather…

Typically, a week later, I can’t even remember why I was so mad. Don’t you think there’s two kinds of anger? There’s immediate blow-up type that illicits a quickdraw reaction. Then we have the kind that simmers and stews like a pot of red hot chili on the back burner of your soul. This second type seems to work its way into other parts of life. Its a heartburning indigestion that won’t go away, despite all the Pepto you swallow.

“It is wise to direct your anger towards problems — not people; to focus your energies on answers — not excuses.” ― William Arthur Ward

Upon reflection, when I’m very, very angry and upset about my team losing – and when I shoot off my mouth too much about it, I end up being the one who really suffers the loss of down, the 15 yard penalty, and the sorrow in the locker room of my own life. It’s just a game that no one is going to remember in the very near future. But my transforming character is with me (and others) for much longer.

I want to be the kind of person that wins the chili cook-off, not the kind that stokes an acidic reflux days later. I don’t want anger to rule over my interactions with others. I’d like to give everyone else the benefit of a first down call, just as I’d like to receive it from others. How about you?

When you are angry, don’t let it carry you into sin. Don’t let the sun set with anger in your heart or  give the devil room to work.  – Ephesians 4:26-27