![What Nails In A Fence Can Reveal About Anger [Series]](https://heartstonejourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/hsj-anger.jpg)
Ever notice that people seem to be getting more and more angry these days? Road rage, riots, struggling economy, turmoil around the world…I could go on and on about the rising levels of anger. In today’s society, it seems like more and more people are lashing out. Let`s face it, we all get frustrated from time to time, and now see every day people flying off the handle in seconds…usually over the small stuff. Not sure about you, but it feels like we’re living in an angry society and it’s getting worse.
Came across this snippet that really captures the ripple effects of anger:
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.”
The little boy then understood how powerful his words were. He looked up at his father and said “I hope you can forgive me father for the holes I put in you.”
“Of course I can,” said the father.
-Author Unknown
It’s not always anger, it is our actions in general. Of course forgiveness should always be a destination of healing, but the scars of the past…may take time to go away. Watch what you do (and say) today, because sometimes the price isn’t worth the reward. Here are a handful of articles I’ve written that deal with the the topic of anger.
