IT WAS an ominous beginning. “Now that I am the head of this house, you are not going to embarrass me by being late,” shouted John at his new bride, Ginger.a For over 45 minutes, he yelled at her while demanding that she remain seated on the couch. Abusive speech became the norm in their marriage. Sadly, John’s angry behavior escalated. He would slam doors, pound on the kitchen table, and drive wildly while banging on the steering wheel, thus endangering the lives of others.

Also, men generally fail to give due regard to consequences. There can be a price to pay for losing control of one’s anger. For instance, what are the obvious consequences if a husband loses his temper with his wife to the point that he punches a hole in the wall with his fist? Property is damaged. His hand may be hurt. But more than that, what effect will his tantrum have on the love and respect his wife has for him? The wall may be repaired in a few days, and his hand may heal in a few weeks; but how long will it take for him to regain the trust and respect of his wife?

Did John, spoken of earlier, ever bring his emotions under control? Was he ever able to check his swift, downhill plunge to disaster? Sad to say, shouting escalated into pushing and shoving. Finger pointing led to literal, painful, bruising pokes of the finger. John was careful to avoid bruising areas that were easily visible and tried to hide his conduct. Eventually, though, he resorted to kicking, punching, hair pulling, and worse. Ginger is now separated from John.