Sharp County record., 1885-08-13
BAD-TEMPERED MEN

NV SDeCiaI, CONTINUOUS anu
Care, Aided by Divine Grace
There are many men who fill the de-
scription which a venerable lady once
gave of her son: "Jobn wants to be a
GOOD man, but he don't know how;
and majority of these men are bad
tempered. Some of them are subject
to fits of anger, others are suspicious;
some can not overlook q slight, others
are always demanding praise; some
are sour as buttermilk, others are re-
sentful and touchy. The catalogue
mioht be extended to great length, so
numerous are the forms in which bad
temper plaques its victims and the rest
of mankind. No doubt the bad-tem-
pered people lack knowledge OF their
besetting sins, and of the means to
overcome them. To know ourselves IS
not easy, especially when full knowl-
edge would be humiliating to seit-love'
The victim of bad temper blames 9TH
ers for causing his sin, as child KICKS
the stone over which he stumbleS; and
it comes to pass that the tempered
folks are made to answer for all the
bad tempers of their neighbors. This
might be borne with patience If by
bearing it the sweet could cure the sour;
but unfortunately, though patience is q
duty, it is not remedy of radical
nature. The man whose irrational an
ger encounters no obstacles will soon
cool of, but he will be hot again at the
first provocation. To bear his anger is
best and easiest but bearing it will not
cure it.
No device has been found equal to
this case. We once knew company
of good brethren to concoct an extern
poraneous class meeting Ito tell each
other their faults" The angry, the
morUse and the suspicious brother were
present. The angry man grew hot with
rage when his fault was mentioned; the
morose man went into a fit Of sulks; the
susp cious man declared that the meet
inc was a trap. A little order being
restored by singing a hymn, the hot
tempered brother explained that his
fault was meeknesS; he bore too easily
the ill-will and bad conduct of his
brethren. He felt that he ought to re-
sent these things, but for the sake of his
Master he endured them. The sulking
brother said that he did all he ought to
do, and much more, because he loved
the cause; but he was not so forward as
some others to lead off in everything,
because he did not seek honor. The
suspicious man declared that frankness
and trust were his special failings, but
his confidence was so often abused that
he found his duty sometimes disagree
able Mild remonstrauceS were made
to these professions. The bad-tempered
men were told by chapter and verse
the cases in which they had abundant
Iy proved their vices of disposition and
manner; but it was useleSs-they per-
sisted in claiming the Trtues which were
the opposites of their faults. The meet
ing broke up in disorder, and no second
session was held. The bad tempers
continue to plague the church.
If all were as blind as these brethren
there would be nothing to do but to
pray. The sermons on sins of temper
would not hit the mark. The men for
whom they are meant will pass them
along to others less culpable than them
selves There is, however, a minority
among the bad-tempered who know
something Of their faults though they
nj frr
haps be reached by suggestion that a
fault of temper must be corrected by
the man himself, and that to correct it
ne needs to take special, continuous
and perSeverng care. There are men
who in this way have cured themselves
OF bad tempers, 1t need not be said
at length, for it is understood, that
Divine grace is necessary. Happily
the grace has not to be made for the
occasion; it exists in bouudless plenty.
What is needed is that the victim of a
bad temper shall use this grace for his
special sin. He must, in order to use it
clearly, recognize and confess his sin
to HIMSELF he must check and restrain
his tendency to blame the innocent
occasions of his temper; he must speci-
tcally ask Divine help for this evil; he
must watch himself at this point. We
know there is shorter road to sancti-
lying power, of which many speak; we
do not discredit that road, but the aver
age man with bad temper will need
IN every case to watch his weak point
and direct the healing efficacy of
prayer to that weak point. He will
need keep his eye on anger, his will
holding fast to a purpose to subjugate
it to righteous law.
There is much neglect by Christians
OF the details of character. They like
To think of tho W. ,.l- .,f e.,.. "a a. 90 IL