That Makes Me So Mad

Lead with your ears,

follow up with your tongue,

and let anger straggle along in the rear.

— James 1:19, The Message version

[NOTE: This is the conclusion of a 3 part series. I wrote the first two here on Nov. 18 & 19. If you haven’t read Listen or Before You Say That, please scroll down to those dates’ blogs.]

Listen carefully.

Respond just as carefully.

And notice where James 1:19 places what is too often our immediate response: Let anger straggle along in the rear.

I love the use here of that verb: straggle. The alternative is what Don Henley warned in a song, “You keep carrying that anger, it’ll eat you up inside.”

Make an effort today to just let anger straggle along in the rear.

That can be difficult.

But the people in our lives are worth it.

Let anger straggle along in the rear.