By Bunmi Adebayo
As indicated yesterday, we shall today be looking at how to mitigate our feelings of anger when such situation arises.
The first action by everyone in managing the issue of anger is to determine your level of anger, which is referred to as ANGER QUOTIENT. We are all at different levels of anger disposition. What triggers anger in ‘A’, may not necessarily apply to ‘B’. Therefore you need to determine your disposition to anger, and what could trigger such feelings in you.
After God rejected the offering of Cain, God queried him on why his face was down. God told him that if he had done well towards Him, his offering would have been acceptable. With his foul mood, Cain still felt comfortable being with Abel alone on the field without anyone being around them.
When God questioned him on the whereabouts of his brother, Cain replied to God, that what was his business with his brother, and that he was neither the keeper, nor the watchman for his brother.
After God decreed his punishment, Cain went back to God complaining about the punishment given to him, and how he could be prone to being killed. God had to issue another decree and placed a mark of “kill not” on Cain so as to allow him serve his “punishment long enough”.
All the above are clear indicators that Cain was a man of malice and very high on anger quotient.
For a man who is very high on anger disposition, you must be very careful with people and issues of life. When you are provoked, then avoid people or joining issues with anybody. When you need to join issues with others, please make sure you are not under provocation. And if for any reason you are provoked, then avoid people and or joining issues with others altogether. Do this consistently over time, and see how it works out with you.
Avoidance of anger triggers. Whatever triggers your anger must be avoided. Different things trigger different levels of anger in different people, ranging from cheating, oppression, suppression, shouting on, alcohol, hunger (yes, hunger. Some people get angry whenever they are sore hungry). Whatever triggers anger in you, avoid such like a plague.
Let the consequences of your anger always be fresh in your mind and memory. When Cain was complaining to God that his punishment was too great for him, he should have thought about this before killing his brother.
One of the reasons for punishment is to serve as a deterrent to others. While you are about to get angry, always remember the likely consequential effects, eg, punishment that will follow to whatever level.
At your moment of anger, have a second thought over the issues provoking you. Cain never did this. God was the giver of all gifts. From the abundance of what He had given them, they were to bring to Him.
If Cain had thought about this, there wouldn’t be any reason to turn against his younger brother to vent any ill feeling against an innocent man, whose only offence was that God accepted his offering, and God rejected his.
He allowed his jealousy to fester into envy, and his envy to degenerate into hatred for his brother. The result was unbelievable in proportion.
Let it always be ringing at the back of your mind what the Bible says about anger in Eccl 7:9 – “Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.” Nobody wants to be a fool you know!
Finally, always learn to call upon God to help you manage your character flaws, including anger. And God, through the instrumentality of His spirit, will surely help you (James 1:5).
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©️ Olubunmi S Adebayo.
