New Leaves: Anger by David Jeremiah

New Leaves: Anger

JANUARY 5, 2019

Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:19-20

 Recommended Reading: James 1:16-20

When you think of turning over a new leaf, perhaps you envision a leaf from a tree, but that’s not what the expression means. Back in the 1500s, pages of books were called leaves. Turning over a new leaf meant turning to a blank page to begin again. Every January we have the opportunity to turn the page and start afresh.

For example, perhaps you’d like to be less irritable this year. Many people are irritable because they’re tired, so a new bedtime routine might help. Some are angry because they’ve allowed bitterness to accrue in their hearts, so they might want to ask God for a forgiving spirit.

Sometimes we’re irritable just because we’ve learned patterns of impatience. In that case, set a goal of memorizing James 1:19-20: “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires” (NIV).

The best way of turning over some new leaves is by leaving anger behind—and the leaves of Scripture can help you with that.

Hot heads and cold hearts never solved anything.
Billy Graham