Anger

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil-speaking be put away from you with all malice. Ephesians 4:31.

This is a familiar New Testament teaching to us, but do we put these things away from us? Today in the Shawnee New Star there was an article by Larry Sparks about this very topic. We are a nation of angry people, and our anger is manifesting itself in unprecedented ways.
A man flew a plane into the IRS building because he was angry; then his daughter spoke from Norway saying that she was proud of her dad's actions. I hope she stays in Norway.
Road rage, people going "postal" at work, students shooting students and teachers, the list goes on.
We have been having a terrible time at school with "girl fights." What exactly do we expect of the generation of girls who have grown up watching Jerry Springer. They have no clue how to resolve conflict without "bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil-speaking." Add to that hair pulling, hitting, scratching, and you have the makings for an interesting day at school. When we try to tell them that they need to settle their arguments calmly with words, they look at us like we are aliens.
The sad fact is that many of our teenage girls have every right to be bitter and angry. They came into this world a sweet, innocent baby, but they were betrayed by the very people who were supposed to protect them from all harm. They've been abandoned by their fathers, and their mothers have not protected them from the men in their lives. Sometimes when these girls are talking openly about the chaos in their lives, my thought is--Honey, you didn't have a snowball's chance. Only a relationship with Jesus will rescue you from the world around you. I can't say those words, but I can pray that prayer.
I don't expect a person who is not a Christian to put these things away, but for a Christian to spew bitterness and anger all over the place is unacceptable. If we are supposed to hold our brothers and sisters in Christ accountable, I guess we should recite this verse when a Christian is speaking words of anger. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to do that.
I get angry; it happens far too often for me to look down my nose at anyone else, but I do try to hold off bitterness. In my experience bitterness is a cancer in the life of a believer. A bitter person is consumed. I have yet to meet a bitter person that I enjoy being around; as a matter of fact, I usually will try to avoid a person that I know is bitter.
Life is difficult, and we don't all get what everyone else gets here on this earth, but nothing is as dishonoring to God, in my opinion, than wearing a sour look that reveals that you got the short end of the stick.
It's not human nature to be content at all times. That is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
I am going to make every effort to "put away" anger from my life. What do I have to be angry about? Nothing. I am saved by grace, and I will spend eternity with the creator of the universe and His son who died so that I could live. All of this "stuff" is insignificant.