An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.
Proverbs 29:22 (NIV)
If you were alive in the 90s, surely you remember the fight between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. Tyson ripped off part of Holyfield's ear, for which the boxing association disqualified him. They revoked his license and withheld his payment. Tyson lost his temper, threw common sense out the window, and forgot the boxing rules. He fought dirty.
In a relationship, arguments, misunderstandings, and confrontations are typical. People have disagreements and fights all the time. Christians are no exception, but as children of God, what we must not do is allow our bad temper to rule us to the point of sinning by hurting the person on the other side of our argument.
I'm sure you will agree with me when I say that our chances of being traumatized by a stranger during an argument are low, but those chances increase when the person we are arguing with is someone we love. The most significant emotional pain comes to us from people who know us well because they know what buttons to push to hurt us.
When we allow our temper to rule us, we tend to say words that we would never speak with a sober mind. Sometimes, to get our way, win an argument, or cause the person who hurt us pain, we say things we later regret. I call that fighting dirty, and although we often achieve our goal when we fight dirty, we also end up paying the consequences of our lack of control.
We sin when we hurt someone on purpose, and every sin has consequences. The only one who wins when we fight dirty is our adversary, the devil. Please, people of God, watch your mouth when you are angry. Remember that the object of any discussion should be to find a solution to a conflict, not to cause pain to others.
The next time satan tempts you to fight dirty, remember that angry people cause conflict, and hot-tempered people sin. If you fight, fight clean. Conflicts are unavoidable, and arguments sometimes are necessary, but remember the golden rule, "Do to others as you would have them do to you."
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