Anger: Relate to People who Are Patient

"Don't hang out with angry people; don't keep company with hotheads. Bad temper is contagious - don't get infected" (Proverbs 22:24-25 MSG).

Is anger contagious? Yes. Can you be infected by somebody else's anger? Certainly. Ever been in a situation where they get loud and you do too? What's happening? There's a transfer of energy. It's contagious.

If you are serious about changing an imbedded, habitual lifestyle of inappropriate anger management, then you need to start hanging out with other people who know how to manage their anger. That's one of the benefits of a church. That's why I believe in joining a church family and getting involved in a small group. You pick up positive values.

The methods we use to express our anger are learned. Since they're learned, they can be unlearned. Parents, every time I blow up and lose my cool, I'm modeling inappropriate anger to my kids. They're learning and you're teaching.

James Dobson says, "Successful marriages are not those marriages where anger or conflicts do not exist. But rather, successful marriages are where they've learned to manage their anger. When anger is managed, it produces great marriages." I'd like to add this: When anger is managed, it also produces great friendships and churches and businesses. It produces great leaders because it channels the emotional energy of anger into a focus that will potentially produce tremendous good.

:)