Consider the nature of your five closest friends. Who are they? How do they touch the world around them? What kind of impact do they have on their world, in their homes, their jobs, their recreations? Are they the kind of person that YOU want to BE? Because Scripture is clear, they are the people you will be most like in the end. When we enter into long-term commitments with people whose character is angry, sullen, mean-spirited or just plain cruel, we establish the pattern of life that we will begin to emulate. It is axiomatic that the bad drags down the good, when the good won't cut ties. It happens because the evil around us has a man on the inside. Paul talks about the "old man" who still dwells inside of us. This hidden enemy is the old sin nature that gets replaced when God calls us to life in Christ Jesus. We are commanded to "set our eyes on the upward calling"; to be "transformed by the renewing of our minds"; to "seek with patient continuance" those things that honor God. We are also commanded to "flee from sin" to "put to death the flesh with its lusts" and to "resist the devil"... by obeying all of these things and so many more we set the trajectory of our lives and of our character. In short, the things and people we follow make us into the people we will be. The world is full of angry men; and while we are certainly going to occasionally GET angry, but we are not to BE angry people. We are commanded to "be angry and do not sin", for the wrath of man NEVER accomplishes the righteousness of God. As this world, and our culture become more and more inundated with furious men (and women) it becomes all the more important that the church be filled with people who live "grace and mercy", who repent of wrath quickly, who are aimed at better things and who have as their closest friend, the "One who sticks closer than a brother". Precious child, Jesus Christ is the ONLY one who will never lead you astray. Set yourself to follow Him only.