Think a minute…This is about a boy who had a bad temper and anger problem. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper he had to hammer a nail into the fence.

The first day the boy hammered 37 nails into the fence! But over the next few weeks as the boy was learning to control his anger, the number of nails he hammered each day became fewer. Soon the boy discovered that it was easier to hold his temper than to hammer nails into the fence. 

Finally the day came when the boy did not lose his temper even once. He went to his father and told him that he had finally learned to control his anger. His father was very pleased. Then he told his son to go back to the fence and start pulling out one nail each day that he continued controlling his temper. Many days later the boy felt so good inside when he announced to his father that he had been able to pull out all the nails in the fence. 

His dad said: “Son, you’ve done well in learning to control your anger. I’m very proud of you. But now look at all the holes in the fence from your nails. This fence will never be the same. It is the same way when you get angry and say hurtful things to people. Your angry words leave scars just like the holes from these nails. Afterwards, it doesn’t matter how many times you say ‘I’m sorry’, that wound and scar you made in people’s hearts is still there.”

Sometimes the deep emotional hurts and damages we cause with our angry words are the worst kind. Yes, we should always sincerely apologize and tell others we are truly sorry that we hurt them. But our families and friends would be much happier if we simply learned to control our anger and not hurt them in the first place. Think how much happier and more peaceful our life and families would be. 

If you have trouble controlling your anger, you need to ask Jesus to forgive you. It is only with His help and power that you can change. He came to free you from both the penalty and the power of all your sin, including your uncontrolled anger. He nailed it to His cross—so you could be born again with His character in control of your heart every day.

The most important step is the first one. Won’t you take it right now? With Jesus in complete control, you can start changing today. Just think a minute…