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“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” (James 1:19-20, NIV).
Several years ago we bought a Chevy Astro Van; with captain's seat from front to back, tinted windows, and a cassette deck. Belinda and I, along with our four kids, were stylin' in the Mile High City.
Our second car, which I drove, was a Volkswagen squareback; custom-painted a metallic cobalt blue, and fitted with silver tinted windows. Yeah, that's right -- it was cool.
But anyway -- one day as we are cruising in our Astro I noticed the meter indicating that the engine was running hot. Hmmmm. What could that mean, I wondered. Then it began to lose power, and felt like it was lurching along the road -- all the while continuing to over-heat even more. Then white smoke started billowing out everywhere -- and I managed to make it to the dealership just in the nick of time.
And for the record -- I made a scene once I got there. In fact, you might say that there was as much steam coming out of my ears as was previously coming out of my van. I was angry -- and it was all their fault!
They rolled the van into the bay and did a full exam, and brought the news to me in the waiting room -- where I was drinking car dealership coffee and scanning old copies of Reader's Digest for some news jokes to use on Sunday morning.
“Mr. Ryle,” the grease-stained fellow said with a polite smile, “You have a warped head.”
I don't really remember much else of what he said, or what we did to get it all corrected -- for in that otherwise ordinary moment, the Lord used the man's comment to speak to me about my problem with anger.
I'll tell you what He said tomorrow.
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