SUNDAY READINGS.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXI, Issue 9852, 3 November 1924, Page 3

SUNDAY READINGS.

THE PENALTY OF TEMPER. (By the Rev. James Aitken, M.A.) Temper is anger out of control. "it is anger that is without justification or excessive. The capacity for is ail endowment of the human sp.i it, and a very valuable endowment. There is a place, a sphere, for anger, and in its proper sphere anger may bo a very noble thing. Strong speech and strong action are sometimes a duty. Y r e have no business to try to pass through a world of conflicting forces without taking sides. We are simply cowardly when, to save ourselves discomfort or unpopularity, we cautiously forbear uttering a word of censure upon some powerful evil or abuse. We do not sympathise very strongly with the right if we can see it manifestly trampled upon without coming forward in its defence. Browning says of Dante that—“He loved well because be hated. Hated wickedness that hinders loving.’ 7

Jesus was filled with indignation sometimes, and spoke indignant words, when Ho was confronted until the callousness ancl hypocrisy- cl the Pharisees. And if we have never ielt the like anger when face to face with some great wrong, perhaps we have little claim to be called H:s disciples. By all meats let us be angry when some meanness lias to lie exposed, some injustice to be redressed, some conspiracy against the light to be unmasked. ' “Anger,” says one of the early fathers, “is a. sort of sting implanted in us wherewith to attack the. devil.” Anger against the devil is never sinful, -for it cannot be too great. Such anger is a very different thing from bad temper. But when we turn the weapon with which we were meant to light the devil against our follow men, when we draw it on the slightest occas.on. when we go slashing, about with, it in blind rage heedless where we strike * how we wound—that is a different after. That is temper. J.t is angth.at has been allowed to get out of

nncl. Wo speak of giving way to rniper, of our temper getting the etter of us: and thereby admit that o have ceased to control and govern nrselves as mert should do. And to irrender our self-control is both fool!i and wrong. The book of Proverbs emphasises m folly of it. Tho man that utters ,h all his auger is called a fool. It is an honor for a man to keep way from strife,” it says, ‘‘but ev•y fool will be quarrelling.” Temper iwa,ys makes a man look foolish: and abitual bad temper makes him aburd. We read the story of Nabal. las over likeness drawn in more to!iig strokes than that of this churl oi' a -sheepfarmer. The. lines are vivid and clear, the co’oj'.s unfaded, after thirty centuries. We can see him moving about among his sheep and Ids men, dark-browed, overbearing, uncouth, proud of h's possessions, but limbing his subordinates tremble before bus explosions of unreasonable wrath; a ricii boor who deems .himself discharged from every obligation of common civility. We can hear his servant, after Natal’s contemptuous refusal of David’s request, reporting the incident to Abigail, and in despair summing up his master’s character in the unvarnished phrase, “He is such a son of Belial that one cannot speak to him.” I wish, when we thought of Jonah we could forget about the whale; for the rest of his story is lull of significance for us. Jonah indignant first because his preaching had been successful and Ninevah -was spared, and then forsooth because the guard under which he had taken shelter was withered away j Jonah angry with God and pouring out his rage as many another angry fool has done, crying “Didn’t I tell Thee it would ho so": 1 do well to bo angry”—is not the sight of him absurdf Here is a. true sentence from Jeremy laylor, Speaking of anger, he says, “It makes the voice horrid, the eyes cruel, the face pale or fiery, the gait fierce, the speech clamorous and loud, and the whole body monstrous, deformed and contemptible.” “I am sure,” says another Duglish wj :tei, “that those who are at ail particular about their personal appearance might bo cured for ever of their bad temper, if oniy they could ho induced, during, some violent parosyxm, to gaze into a looking-glass. They would receive a shock that would make, them changed character for the rest of their lives. Legitimate manifestations of anger are impressive and sometimes even awe-inspiring ; but the man who is m a temper always appears ridiculous.

But the ridiculousness is the least of it. Bad temper is crule to others and hurtful to oneself. ft is cruel to others. I do not need to u\veu on that point, though in is perhaps the most important point of all. In our calmer moments we recognise the cruelty of the things we say and the things we do when we are angry. There is a tragedy in anger—.especially when we are angry with those we love. For then we wound where we have no desire to wound, and hurl, where wo fain would cherish. Words, are wonderful things—wonderful and terrible. And an angry word very often strikes harder than a blow. We have, all of us, had reason to repent of our anger at times, because of the pain it has given to those who are dear to us.

Temper is hurtful to ourselves. -It docs us damage; real positive damage. I te’ieve it hurts us physically. The old physiologists used to trace a violent temper to on excess of some physical humor in the body. The Greeks used the same word for anger and bile. And there was some truth in their old theories. But there is truth also in the theory that the action works both ways, and tlita an outburst of ten per is hurtful to health, And certainly it is hurtful to. the spirit. It dulls the intellect and prostrates some of our most valuable faculties. It paralyses our discernment—when can an angry man's judgment be relied on. And w-tli our discernment goes cur sense of humor, that faculty which .lightens the burdens and sweetens the re’.at oiishipr. of life. The worst of all is that temper tends so surely to become a habit. .“A man of great wrath,” says the proverb, “shall bear the penalty; for if thou deliver him, thou must do it yet again.” I lie picture is of » man whose temper has\got him into a scrape. You come to his rescue, but that is not the erd of it. AVhat lias happened once will happen again. Ho will always lie needing you to make liis peace for him. Temper moans loss of self control, and loss of self control means ruin of character.

Do you remember a very touching sentence in the Epistle of Peter? Be ter was a hot-tempered man and lived to regret it bitterly. And when lie writes of Jesus and tells us that He did no sin neither was quite found in His mouth, he adds, as though nothing impressed him about the Master more than this, “When He nas reviled. He revised not again; when I-Tc suffered, He threatened riot.'' Jesus could be angry, and He vas angry when He saw injust ee done arid men and women treated cruelly. He was never angry far Himself Though foies might hate, despair, revile, And fwends uhLrthful .prove, tjn—e.'irlod ill forgiveness 8 bill His heart con’d only love.

He is cur example. And lie is more tlian nor examp’e. He is ouriuspirer and helper. The spirit .'hat was in Him may he in us also, if lie will (nit rrust Him .sufficiently to put ourselves under His influence fl.au let Him wf-k His will in us. .