Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires

Proverbs 29:22
An angry man stirreth up strife,
and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.

At first it seems necessary and common, but then it can't get out of control and do much damage. All you need is a spark and a little wind. You could have a multi-billion dollar catastrophe on your hands. Some of the worst fires started as someone who threw a small cigarette or match out of the car window.

Anger can consume you like a fire and not just any fire, one that will destroy homes and lives if possible. Anger in our lives is a continual stirring. Stir, stir, stir... The whole time we grit our teeth and finally become a wild raging fire of anger. Eventually it becomes so hot and overwhelming that we move from a one alarm fire to a three alarm fire. The flames of anger are raging in our hearts.

Then we become the furious man that scripture speaks of. It says we then begin to abound in transgression. It is just moments away after the spark. More and more it will grow, hotter and hotter, higher and higher!

What can we do about it? I can't help it when I get mad Steve! You're right. I can't either. There are things that happen to me daily that get my blood to boiling or my fires sparked. How do we handle it? We responded instead of reacting. We pray instead of pouncing. I remember one slogan in my life... It came from a big bear. He said, "Only you can prevent forest fires."  He taught us to soak it with water, then to stir it with a stick and then soak it again. What if you were to saturate your anger with the Holy Spirit? What if you stirred it with the Word of God? Then lastly soaked and bathed it in prayer? It's up to you... Cause only you can prevent anger fires.