Save Your Anger For Things That Matter


We recently relocated to the Bronx for a season. Where we are is nice, but there’s a lot more cars than there were at our former place. We’re on a corner with a traffic signal. For the most part things keep moving, but some days the street gets backed up. That’s when it begins.

HONK! HONK! BEEP! BEEP!

New Yorkers get a bad rap over some things. Times of difficulty like 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy demonstrate how much most NYers actually look out for each other. But there’s one thing NYers are generally lacking in...patience. Everyone’s in a hurry and when you slow them down they get angry.

Most people keep this in check, but others allow their rage to boil over. At times this is perplexing. Cars can be backed up in every direction, and you’ll have that one driver laying on his horn, yelling out the window, and clearly enraged. Obviously everyone wants to go. No one is purposefully sitting still, it’s just that there are too many cars. When I see this I can’t help but wonder, why would you allow yourself to become so angry over something outside of your control?

“Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.” Ecclesiastes 7:9

Some things make me angry, and I can do something about them. I can speak out against racism. I can help support efforts to rescue people from human trafficking. I can pray, work, and give to causes that matter. 

But I can’t get the plane to leave the gate on time. I can’t control the number of customers at Costco when I’m in a hurry. I can’t make it snow less, the program download faster, or my dog go to the bathroom quicker when it’s 8 degrees outside and I’m walking him.

Fools get angry over things beyond their control. I’m no fool, and neither are you. When we feel ourselves getting upset let’s ask ourselves, “Can I really do anything about this?” And if the answer is, “No,” then it’s probably time to slow down and relax.

And stop beeping your horn.

Following the Son,

James A Williams

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