February 23

Scripture reading for today: Acts 27 – 28; Psalm 116

Paul’s life reminds me of an Indiana Jones movie. Beaten, imprisoned falsely, shipwrecked, snake-bitten—a lot of bad stuff happens to Paul. I wonder if he ever felt frustrated about all this action and adventure. Anxiety isn’t the only emotion that reveals hidden pockets of unbelief. Resentment, hostility, and anger also can be toxic emotions.

Dr. Don Colbert, M.D. and author of Deadly Emotions, claims that hostility, rage and anger are at the top of the list of toxic emotions that generate an extreme stress reaction.  According to studies on aggression, most people are angrier than they realize. Twenty percent of the general population — one in five — have measurable levels of hostility high enough to dangerously affect their health. Here’s what happens to an angry body.

• Hostile people release more adrenaline and norepinephrine into their blood than the non-hostile. Angry people have elevated blood pressure, cortisol levels, salt retention, triglycerides, cholesterol and sticker platelets—all predisposing factors for heart disease.
• A study in Finland showed that hostility is a major risk factor and predictor of coronary artery disease. (Hostiles are three times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than the calm.)
• Hostility may be a better predictor of coronary disease than cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Why wasn’t Paul torqued up about all his suffering? Because he knew his place in the story. He believed that there was a God, and he (Paul) didn’t get the job. He believed that God had good things planned for him. Paul didn’t try to manipulate the world to bring those good things into reality; instead, he entrusted himself to God and God’s time and interpretation of what “good” looked like.  If you read through all of the writings of Paul, you realize that Paul did get plenty angry at times in his ministry. The goal here is not to eliminate anger from our diets. It’s simply that anger shouldn’t be our main course. Like a very fattening, decadent dessert, it should be partaken of rarely.

Thought for tomorrow:  As he thinks in his heart, so is he.  Proverbs 23:7 NKJV

Ask three people who you believe know you well to assess your “anger” quotient. On a scale of 1 – 10 (1=Ghandi, 10=a raging lunatic), how angry do others assess us? Remember, no matter what they answer, say this, “Thank you for sharing.”  I hope some of you will blog with your results.