On the opening night of the college football season, Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount punched Byron Hout of Boise St. following the game. Hout appeared to taunt Blount before getting clocked. Blount then got into a minor altercation with his teammates and even the fans before being forcibly taken to the locker room. After the game Blount was apologetic saying he lost his head. The next day Oregon suspended Blount for the entire season. He was a senior hence his college career is now over. Anger gone overboard.
In the heat of the moment we all do things we regret. In sports athletes are so intense sometimes they get caught up in the moment. In life sometimes we are under such intense pressure we get caught up in the moment. But letting your anger get the best of you can be detrimental to your success.
I'm sure Blount has dreams of making the NFL and it sill may happen but the road just got a lot tougher. Having punched a guy on national tv has definitely tarnished his reputation. On top of that he lost the chance to impress NFL scouts during his senior season. Some may say the penalty was too stiff but when your anger goes overboard you have to accept whatever penalty is doled out.
I remember being in college when anger got the best of me on two occasions. Both of them took place on a basketball court. Since I am somewhat short, I always feel like I have something to prove and in both instances I felt I was getting pushed around. The opposing player was also talking trash which didn't help matters either. In both instances I ended up punching the guy just like Blount. I was lucky not to get kicked out of school. The point is controlling anger is a challenge.
The Bible says in Romans 12:9 Vengeance is mine;I will repay saith the Lord. Too often when we feel wronged we want to get even, taking matters into our own hands. That is where the problem lies and taking that course of action one time too many could be your downfall.
In James 1:19 the Bible says Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath. Sometimes we are quick to get angry before hearing the other person out or fully evaluating a situation. The scripture says swift to hear and slow to speak. Keep in mind we all have two ears and one mouth. If we all doubled up on our listening we could avert a lot of arguments that lead to anger. Of course this is not easy, we live in a violent world, from gangster movies to gangster rappers. Many people see violence in their homes. But controlling anger is an area everyone needs to work on. One of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control. Let us pray that we don't always have to get even and that we will listen more. Otherwise if your anger goes overboard, one day you just might find your dreams going with it.
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