Section 11—Emotional Problems
Chapter 56—Anger (Part 2)
Never Discipline in Anger—God has a tender regard for the children. He wants them to gain victories every day. Let us all endeavor to help the children to be overcomers. Do not let offenses come to them from the very members of their own family. Do not permit your actions and your words to be of a nature that your children will be provoked to wrath. Yet they must be faithfully disciplined and corrected when they do wrong, but never in anger.—Manuscript 47, 1908.
A parent gives way to temper before the child and then wonders why the child is so difficult to control. But what could he expect? Children are quick to imitate, and the child is but putting into practice the lessons taught him by his parents in their outbursts of anger
You may have to punish your child with the rod. This is sometimes essential. But never, never strike him in anger. To correct him thus is to make two wrongs in trying to cure one. Defer the punishment till you have talked with yourself and with God. Ask yourself, Have I submitted my will to God’s will? Am I standing where He can control me? Ask God to forgive you for transmitting to your child a disposition so difficult to manage. Ask Him to give you wisdom that you may deal with your wayward child in a way that will draw him nearer to you and to his heavenly Father.—The Review and Herald, July 8, 1902.
Violent Emotions Endanger Life—The giving way to violent emotions endangers life. Many die under a burst of rage and passion. Many educate themselves to have spasms. These they can prevent if they will, but it requires willpower to overcome a wrong course of action. All this must be a part of the education received in the school, for we are God’s property. The sacred temple of the body must be kept pure and uncontaminated, that God’s Holy Spirit may dwell therein.—Letter 103, 1897. (Our High Calling, 265.)
The Fruitage of Each Outburst of Anger—One class have come up without self-control; they have not bridled the temper or the tongue; and some of these claim to be Christ’s followers, but they are not. Jesus has set them no such example…. They are unreasonable and not easily persuaded or convinced. They are not sane; Satan for the time has full control. Every one of these exhibitions of wrath weakens the nervous system and the moral powers and makes it difficult to restrain anger on another provocation.—The Youth’s Instructor, November 10, 1886. (Sons and Daughters of God, 142.)
Intoxicated With Wrath—How Satan exults when he is enabled to set the soul into a white heat of anger! A glance, a gesture, an intonation, may be seized upon and used as the arrow of Satan to wound and poison the heart that is open to receive it.—The Signs of the Times, September 21, 1888
When one once gives place to an angry spirit, he is just as much intoxicated as the man who has put the glass to his lips.—Manuscript 6, 1893.
Christ treats anger as murder… Passionate words are a savor of death unto death. He who utters them is not cooperating with God to save his fellowman. In heaven this wicked railing is placed in the same list as common swearing. While hatred is cherished in the soul there is not one iota of the love of God there.—Letter 102, 1901. (Our High Calling, 235.)
Petulant Man Is Seldom Content—No one else can lessen our influence as we ourselves can lessen it through the indulgence of uncontrollable temper. A naturally petulant man does not know true happiness and is seldom content. He is ever hoping to get into a more favorable position or to so change his surroundings that he will have peace and rest of mind. His life seems to be burdened with heavy crosses and trials, when, had he controlled his temper and bridled his tongue, many of these annoyances might have been avoided. It is the “soft answer” which “turneth away wrath.” Revenge has never conquered a foe. A well-regulated temper exerts a good influence on all around; but “he that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.”—Testimonies for the Church 4:367, 368 (1879).
Easier to Be Uninhibited Before a Crowd—It is worse, far worse, to give expression to the feelings in a large gathering, firing at anyone and everyone, than to go to the individuals who may have done wrong and personally reprove them. The offensiveness of this severe, over-bearing, denunciatory talk in a large gathering is of as much more grave a character in the sight of God than giving personal, individual reproof, as the numbers are greater and the censure more general. It is ever easier to give expression to the feelings before a congregation, because there are many present, than to go to the erring and, face-to-face with them, openly, frankly, plainly state their wrong course.
But bringing into the house of God strong feelings against individuals and making all the innocent as well as the guilty suffer is a manner of labor which God does not sanction and which does harm rather than good. It has too often been the case that criticizing and denunciatory discourses have been given before a congregation. These do not encourage a spirit of love in the brethren. They do not tend to make them spiritually minded and lead them to holiness and heaven, but a spirit of bitterness is aroused in hearts. These very strong sermons that cut a man all to pieces are sometimes positively necessary to arouse, alarm, and convict. But unless they bear the especial marks of being dictated by the Spirit of God they do far more injury than they can do good.—Testimonies for the Church 3:507, 508 (1880).
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/78.751#765
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your divine love and mercy and compassion toward erring and repentant humanity. Please bless us to love and show mercy and compassion toward others, according to Your divine purpose. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, please bless us to be all You would have us be, and grant us the mind and love of Jesus that others might be drawn to You through how we live and what we say, especially in response to harsh false accusations. Because we ask all these in the Awesome name of Your Son, Almighty Jesus the Christ, our Savior, we say Thank You and Amen.
******
DID YOU KNOW THIS…?
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.— Proverbs 15:1 KJV —The WORD OF GOD—It’s the only flesh that is safe to eat (meditate on) to live forever!]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Do you feel sorrowful, disconnected—without a place to feel at home or useful? I pray this might show you the way forward. Watch…
https://www.youtube.com/live/2QB6fcwVuws?si=fsEvZU-rkI-BngfD
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
FREE HEALTH TALK* open to the public Thursdays at 5pm at Country Life Natural Foods Store and Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurant, 1217 Eberhart Avenue, Columbus, GA.
Thursday, October 1: “Stress Relief, Part 1”
*Exception: $10 for any cooking class
****
WHGR 91.5 FM went LIVE noon on Thanksgiving Day 2025, for Hurtsboro (my childhood home town) and surrounding areas, including Tuskegee, Alabama.
If you want to support Christian radio programming for these final days, please visit
https://www.ucheepines.org/radio
Thank you!!!
****
I coordinate wonderful health and worship events and conferences online and onsite as a gospel medical missionary at Uchee Pines, a total plant-based health retreat, where doctors and practitioners specialize in lifestyle medicine. For event details, visit https://www.ucheepines.org/events
Therefore, if at any time you fail to receive this post as a text, please visit
https://baiom.org/author/audreystovall/
where devotionals are first posted daily (almost without fail). From there devotionals are publicly shared to my page on FB, LinkedIn, and Signal (in My Story), and to a response-restricted group on WhatsApp (once again when I am able to find the time to successfully rebuild it).
NOTE: These began as daily texts to encourage my academy roommate and dear friend of nearly 50 years, until she suddenly passed March 2023. Now I continue to compile and send them to anyone who will receive them and to her family in honor of their mom. Lately, I have begun featuring consecutive chapter portions of a select Bible-based book.
If you agree to continue receiving them, then this is my personal gift to you; and in this way, I not only honor God but the memory of a very dear friend whom I desperately miss.
My personal prayer is that God will bless me to find ways to multiply this gift, so that we all may be encouraged to be found faithful in the sight of a Holy God, whenever Christ returns or our eyes are shut in the sleep of death.
It is a prayerful process that leads me to share from my personal study.
So please feel free to forward to your loved ones or to anyone, as God leads you.
I’m calling them Barb’s Devotionals.