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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me get my anger under control so I don't yell or be hurtful. Amen!

Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem and couldn't believe what He saw. People were selling animals right in the temple and even making others pay to get in! Jesus made a whip and drove them all out of the temple, flipping over the tables of money and yelling, "Stop making my Father's house into a marketplace!"

Controlling anger can be a challenge for a kid. You get upset or hurt and, the next thing you know, you're yelling, pushing another kid or crying in anger. Once that happens, it can be hard to calm down!

In this week's Gospel (John 2:13-25), Jesus has a hard time controlling His anger. He goes to the temple - like a church - and expects to find people praying and being respectful to God. Instead, He finds them selling sheep, cows and birds. He sees tables of money instead of prayerful people - and Jesus loses it. He yells, dumps the money on the ground and pushes the animals out of the temple.

You can understand why Jesus got angry. There are times when you get angry, too: You feel something is unfair or you're just tired or hungry and can't deal with one more thing. Your anger comes out in a big way.

Being angry is OK. Everyone gets angry sometimes. What isn't OK is letting your anger take over. If you hurt people with your actions or words, it's important to apologize - but, first, it's important to get your anger under control. You don't want to get a reputation as a hurtful, out-of-control kid!

Jesus didn't want that reputation, either. After His angry outburst, He went back to teaching people about God in His usual way: He explained things and healed people.

What Jesus saw in the temple was awful, and He was right to get angry about it, just like your anger is right sometimes. But Jesus' actions later are a good reminder that smashing things and yelling aren't the best ways to handle anger![[In-content Ad]]

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