The Friendship of Angry Men By Paul Chappell Saturday, Jun 22, 2013 "Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul." Proverbs 22:24-25 In March of 1991 a twenty-four year old man named Carl Kerr went to a friend’s house along with several other people. He and his friend, twenty-one year old John Sheppard, were drinking and watching television when an argument broke out. Witnesses later told police that while Sheppard was normally even-tempered, he “got very angry when things didn’t go his way.” He left the room and returned with an ax and struck Kerr with it nine times, killing him. After just ninety minutes of deliberation, the jury found Sheppard guilty and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. While that is an extreme example of the principle Solomon lays out for us in Proverbs on the danger of friendship with an angry man, the damage done by such relationships is a real danger. Even if we never suffer direct physical harm, we are learning a destructive pattern of behavior when we keep company with those who cannot keep control of their emotions and anger. The friends with whom we choose to develop relationships and spend time have an enormous impact on our lives. They help shape our attitudes and our responses when things go right and when things go wrong. While a good friend helps us do what is right (think of the wonderful relationship between Jonathan and David as an example of the power of such a relationship in action), a bad friend helps us do what is wrong (think of Jonadab and Amnon). The reality is that we do not choose the impact our friends have on us. That happens automatically as a result of the relationship. The choice we have is in the friends we select. Choose your friends carefully because they will play a major role in determining your future
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 12:20:32 +0000
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