YOUNG PEOPLE ASK . . .What's Wrong With Getting Even?

A Youth Who Put Away Rage

Many youths have applied these Bible principles with good results.  Catrina, for example, was given up for adoption at an early age. She says:  "I had a problem with rage because I didn't understand  why my birth mother gave me up. So  I would take it out on my adoptive mother.  For some silly reason, I felt that if I hurt her, I was actually getting back at my birth mother in some way.  So I did everything-verbal abuse, stomping, tantrums.  Slamming doors was my favorite. I also use to say, 'I hate you!'-all because I was so angry.   Looking back, I can't believe that I did these things."

What helped Catrina control her anger?  She replies:  "Reading the Bible! This is so important because Jehovah knows how we feel."  Catrina also found comfort when she and her family read Awake! articles that dealt with her particular family situation.  "All of us were able to sit down together and understand one another's feelings," she recalls.

You too can learn to control feelings of rage. When confronted with teasing, bullying, or mistreatment, remember the words of the Bible at Psalm 4:4:  "Be agitated, but do not sin."   These words help you to avoid giving in to destructive rage.

Next time: Jehovah, the God of Communication

From the Awake! magazine