How to Grow Your Nose by Controlling Your Anger - Martin Wiles

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty. Proverbs 16:32 NKJV

Had I created mine, I would have made it shorter and narrower.

The nose is an interesting part of the body’s anatomy. It continues to grow as a person ages. And I have seen many senior adults with noses that have apparently followed the norm.

As a child, I smelled everything before I ate it. I suppose I thought if it smelled bad, it would taste the same way. Not always true. Since smell is one of the most powerful memory tools, I’m glad—although sometimes sad—that I have a sense of smell. Certain aromas can resurrect things I’ve not thought about in years—or even remembered that I remember.

But growing my nose longer has never entered my mind—but perhaps it should. The Hebrew word for “anger” in the Old Testament means “nostril” or “nose.” According to Hebrew psychology, the nose was the beginning point of anger. One who was slow to anger was long of nose.

An interesting twist on this piece of our anatomy. So interesting that we might indeed wish our noses would keep growing. Anger is one of those God-created emotions that almost everyone struggles with. The emotion itself is neutral, but it is rarely expressed in the same way. Hurt, fear, and frustration resurrect it, and the temptation is to manifest it in ways that will hurt others.

Being slow to anger is an art only God can help us with. We may have genetic propensities or have lived through environmental situations that make it easier for us to express our anger in unhealthy ways, but neither excuses the responsibility for our actions. “I can’t help it” won’t cut the mustard with God. Strength comes from learning to control the emotion.

We can grow our noses by temporarily or permanently stepping away from an explosive situation, by being prayed up ahead of time, by being familiar with what the Bible says about anger, by learning to think before we act, by depending on God’s Spirit to help us do what we might not ordinarily do, and by looking for beneficial ways to express our anger.

Don’t be ashamed of a long nose. It means you’re mastering the anger button.

Father, help me to express my anger in ways that please you and benefit others. 

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