Unresolved Pain
A quick-tempered man does foolish things.
Proverbs 14:17
In the blink of an eye, he’d grabbed Liam and slammed him up against the wall. Spittle flew from his mouth with each word. “You apologize right now … or so help me God … ” His rage was so intense that he failed to hear his wife’s first two pleas to stop. “Brandon! Stop! You’re hurting him! Please! Stop!” Heather pulled at his arms, trying to get him to release the death grip he had on their sixteen-year-old son.
Her words finally registered, and Brandon was instantly gripped by a paralyzing fear. It had happened again! He’d lost control! And this time it had been with his son.
He released his grip. “Liam,” he began, wanting to explain he hadn’t meant for this to happen. He tried to say he was sorry, but the words wouldn’t come. Sorry didn’t begin to undo what he’d done or relieve the avalanche of shame he was experiencing.
The fear in his son’s eyes told him all he needed to know. Liam was terrified! Brandon covered his face with his hands and began sobbing. He didn’t see Heather tenderly embrace Liam or hear her explain that his father hadn’t meant to hurt him.
This had gone too far. He had just violently attacked his son, and it needed to end right now!
Unbeknownst to Heather, Brandon had lost several thousand dollars through recent gambling. His deception had created unbearable stress, which in turn had begun to cause sudden fits of rage. He begged their forgiveness and vowed to take steps to get help.
†
Anger, rage, fury—each word tries, yet does not completely capture the violent eruption that occurs when unresolved pain causes us to lose all perspective and constraint.
Driven by these unresolved issues, we vent our pain on those who we believe will forgive us. Behind it all lay deceptiveness and irrational thoughts. Without question, these are hidden issues awaiting resolution.
When we mistakenly try to resolve the issues on our own, it usually ends up like today’s scenario. If you have anger issues, seek professional help and hold nothing back. Unresolved anger begins with our first secret.
Prayer
“Keep me from foolishness that leads to rashness, Lord. Help peace to reign in my heart and over my life. In Jesus’ Name, amen.“
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