Ring Tones

There's a lot of anger out there.  Some anger is justifiable, some anger is not.

At the grocery store the other day, someone's phone rang.  It was
Beethoven's Symphony No 5 in C minor.  You know the one.  Da Da Da Daaaaaa.  The audio served as a harbinger of bad things to come. "Thus Fate knocks on the door", the composer says.

Shortly, I heard someone say, "Your mother in law?"
"No it's my (expletive removed) boss!", another replied.
Certainly, that ring tone was used to warn the recipient of incoming headaches.

For a minute, I thought, "good idea!".  One or two people seem to be able to "invigorate" me when they call if you get my drift.  We are friends, but we get each other's goat sometimes.  Then I thought;

"My dear brothers, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." 

James 1: 19-20

Perhaps a "warning" that an unpleasant conversation might be about to take place is the wrong way to anticipate the call. Maybe, as is so often the case with the Kingdom of God, the reverse is true. There is only one ring tone on my phone now. It's the most relaxing and calming music I can find. It seems to be working. Now when the phone rings, it matters not who is calling nor my state of mind. The music alters my mood. Lately, conversations seem more pleasant, and fewer conflicts have been the result.  Can you hear me now?