«O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!» (Romans 7:24, 25).
WHEN HE WAS ten years old, Dwight Eisenhower was unable to keep his anger in check and struck an apple tree repeatedly, until his hands were bleeding and torn. The terrible incident began when his parents categorically refused to let him go trick-or-treating for Halloween one autumn night. Extremely shocked by his son’s reaction, Dwight’s father took a hickory switch, lashed him, and sent him off to bed.
In his book The Road to Character, David Brooks says that an hour later, Dwight’s mother went into his room and, after remaining silent for a moment, told him, «He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city» (Proverbs 16:32). «Hatred is a futile thing, she told him, which only injures the person who harbors it. Of all her boys, she told him, he had the most to learn about controlling his passions.»
At first, his mother’s words did not bear much effect. In terms of discipline, out of 164 students, Eisenhower ranked 125th. During his time in the military, he was demoted from sergeant to private. During the Second World War he was known as «terrible-tempered» and his subordinates feared his anger, because they could see his «twisted cord-like temple arteries standing out on the side of his head.» Throughout his life, even while he was president of the United States, Eisenhower had to battle against his problems with controlling and managing his anger.
It so happens that as humans we are a cluster of imperfections and contradictions, fighting a battle in which we ourselves are part of the enemy we are to overcome. Haven’t we noticed how anger, along with other unrestrained passions, fight within us and defeat us? Like Paul, we have cried out at the top of our lungs, «O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?» (Romans 7:24).
You and I are still fighting, like Eisenhower did, against a sin that prevents us from conquering our own soul. So, like the apostle, let’s exclaim, «l thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!» (Romans 7:25).
He can set us free from anger, and anything else that wants to control us.
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2023
“I AM WITH YOU”
From: J. VLADIMIR POLANCO
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Angelica Cuate
