“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…” — James 1:19

I always felt that I inherited a number of traits from my parents. I got my wit, humor, and perseverance from my mother. I got my intellect and athletic ability from my father. But at the same time, I also got my father’s forgetfulness and insensitivity. And from my mother… Her short-temper and anger.

A lot of the time, my anger isn’t justified. In soccer, sometimes, you can see my temper start to rise when I start screwing up, maybe missing a prime shot at goal or seeing the team’s defense crumble at the hands of a weak offense. Away from the field, there’s usually three things that might spark the fuse: (1) making a very insensitive joke about my late mother or (2) making fun of my efforts and heart in the things I put a lot of time and effort into (i.e. soccer, stuff with the church) or (3) my faith. I’ve tried to make a genuine effort to keep my head on with a lot of things. Not to be prideful, my temper has been a lot better than years ago. If someone tried to tick me off, I probably would have set aside my well-being and punched the individual in the face. Now, the most I’d even consider doing is mutter something under my breath or just avoid talking to the person for a while.

Then came a few weeks ago… More >