Anger is but one letter removed from Danger

Theme: Anger is but one letter removed from Danger

Thought: “In any argument, anger never solves a problem nor wins a debate! If you are right, then there is no need to get angry. If you are wrong, then you don’t have the right to get angry.”

Jackie Robinson’s birthday was at the end of last month (January 31, 1919). We often celebrate his life in April on the anniversary of his breaking the MLB color barrier in 1947. But his journey fits along with the theme of the week so I thought why not take some time profile him.

It seems on a daily basis we face situations that call for confrontation. A customer service experience that goes south, a workplace incident where we feel we were “wronged”, or possibly a family misunderstanding that has gotten out of control.

Our natural human instinct is to fight back. And that certainly is the cultural norm. Our sports tend to reinforce that. In baseball, the custom is that if one player violates an unwritten rule (stealing a base when your team has a large lead, showboating after hitting a home run (see last week’s devotional), or crossing the pitcher’s mound when returning to the dugout) you can predict the next time that player comes to the plate, there will be some fireworks.

These responses are always done out of anger in an effort to send a “message.” In our regular lives we have no such outlet to send messages when we feel wronged, so we just display our anger in different ways. Often it is not pretty.

Robinson’s rookie season was filled with opportunities for him to fight back against injustice. My beloved St. Louis Cardinals allegedly threatened to strike if Robinson played, and the Philadelphia Phillies manager verbally abused him from the opposing dugout in an early season game. Instead of creating a confrontation Robinson merely went along his way doing the job the Dodgers hired him to do, that is play a pretty good first base (not his natural position), hit .297 (97 points higher than Bob Uecker’s career average), and help the Dodgers get to the World Series.

God does not want us to be Hotheads. The next time an opportunity arises that seems to call for lashing out at someone, reflect on Jackie Robinson’s rookie year experience. If you want to be a leader, to truly influence your community, it is better to remain calm, cool and collected just like Robinson did in 1947.

Have an AWESOME week!

Adapted from Lead with Faith, Play with Purpose by Andy Dooley