mouths with fireproof chemicals before displaying their death-defying craft. However, that is not the case. Another assumption is that fire eaters use “cold flames” not hot enough to burn the mouth. Wrong again!
The success of fire eaters is based on the law of physics: both hot air and flames rise upward. When a fire eater tilts his head back, takes a deep breath, opens his mouth wide, and lowers the flaming torch into his mouth, he then exhales slowly, blowing the flames upward. Nevertheless, in the course of mastering this daring art, fire eaters inevitably receive multiple burns.
One of the most critical skills of fire eaters is controlled breathing. When they lower a flaming torch toward their tonsils, they never, ever inhale! Doing so could cause serious burns, collapsed lungs, or the inhalation of poisonous vapors that could potentially kill them. Instead, fire eaters snuff out the flame—either by a quick exhaled breath or by enveloping it inside their mouths, depriving it of oxygen.
Fire eaters use a variety of fuels to ignite the wick of their torches. A popular combustible for this purpose is lighter fluid. Unfortunately, no matter how careful they are, fire eaters who work with lighter fluid end up ingesting small amounts of the fuel each time they perform. And it’s no small matter that the containers carry the warning “Harmful or fatal if swallowed.” Tragically, over time, the effect of such ingestion can be cumulative, building up in the liver and potentially causing lasting damage—and worse.
Similarly, those who continually ingest their own fiery anger can suffer lasting damage from the cumulative effects of a lifetime of fire eating. The adage “Play with fire and you’ll get burned” is true for fire eaters of every variety—whether under the big top or the rooftop. Swallowing your anger is harmful to relationships. And, it’s hazardous to your health.
6
THE FLAMETHROWERS
The Damaging Displays of Our Anger
“Short-tempered people do foolish things”
(PROVERBS 14:17 NLT).
HE WAS CAUTIONED…counseled…commanded. He was warned, and well aware of the danger. He received repeated instructions to leave as Mount St. Helens quivered and quaked. But 84-year-old Harry Truman stood his ground near the volatile volcano. 1
As the shifts beneath the earth’s surface were regularly recorded—seismic activity logged day after day—Harry repeatedly turned a deaf ear to the evacuation orders. He had gained quite a reputation over the years for holding out when everyone else was heading out.
The former bootlegger had left his rebellious life of running Canadian whiskey to California during the Prohibition years, but there was still plenty of rebel left in him. Harry wasn’t about to budge from his lodge near Spirit Lake in Washington State. In 1929, he staked a 40-acre claim. And in the spring of 1980, he staked his life.
Known as a cantankerous wilderness guide—as rough and rugged as they come—Harry had already withstood 100-mile-an-hour wind-storms, a fire that engulfed his house, and numerous earthquakes. If the crater should start spewing out lava, Harry assumed he would have enough time to escape into an old mine shaft he had stocked with food and whiskey.
Despite ongoing eruptions of steam, harmonic tremors, and even a summit explosion, bullheaded Harry refused to budge. Although the number of eruptions lessened through March and April, the evacuation mandates continued.
However, Harry Truman had a tenacious stubborn streak, much like his presidential namesake, who quipped, “If you can’t stand the heat, you better get out of the kitchen!” 2 As conditions worsened in the vicinity of the volcano, most people in proximity did “get out of the kitchen”—but not tough ole Harry.
In fact, Harry gained national notoriety after a Portland, Oregon, television station interviewed him. People from one news show even visited him via helicopter. Harry could have literally
The success of fire eaters is based on the law of physics: both hot air and flames rise upward. When a fire eater tilts his head back, takes a deep breath, opens his mouth wide, and lowers the flaming torch into his mouth, he then exhales slowly, blowing the flames upward. Nevertheless, in the course of mastering this daring art, fire eaters inevitably receive multiple burns.
One of the most critical skills of fire eaters is controlled breathing. When they lower a flaming torch toward their tonsils, they never, ever inhale! Doing so could cause serious burns, collapsed lungs, or the inhalation of poisonous vapors that could potentially kill them. Instead, fire eaters snuff out the flame—either by a quick exhaled breath or by enveloping it inside their mouths, depriving it of oxygen.
Fire eaters use a variety of fuels to ignite the wick of their torches. A popular combustible for this purpose is lighter fluid. Unfortunately, no matter how careful they are, fire eaters who work with lighter fluid end up ingesting small amounts of the fuel each time they perform. And it’s no small matter that the containers carry the warning “Harmful or fatal if swallowed.” Tragically, over time, the effect of such ingestion can be cumulative, building up in the liver and potentially causing lasting damage—and worse.
Similarly, those who continually ingest their own fiery anger can suffer lasting damage from the cumulative effects of a lifetime of fire eating. The adage “Play with fire and you’ll get burned” is true for fire eaters of every variety—whether under the big top or the rooftop. Swallowing your anger is harmful to relationships. And, it’s hazardous to your health.
6
THE FLAMETHROWERS
The Damaging Displays of Our Anger
“Short-tempered people do foolish things”
(PROVERBS 14:17 NLT).
HE WAS CAUTIONED…counseled…commanded. He was warned, and well aware of the danger. He received repeated instructions to leave as Mount St. Helens quivered and quaked. But 84-year-old Harry Truman stood his ground near the volatile volcano. 1
As the shifts beneath the earth’s surface were regularly recorded—seismic activity logged day after day—Harry repeatedly turned a deaf ear to the evacuation orders. He had gained quite a reputation over the years for holding out when everyone else was heading out.
The former bootlegger had left his rebellious life of running Canadian whiskey to California during the Prohibition years, but there was still plenty of rebel left in him. Harry wasn’t about to budge from his lodge near Spirit Lake in Washington State. In 1929, he staked a 40-acre claim. And in the spring of 1980, he staked his life.
Known as a cantankerous wilderness guide—as rough and rugged as they come—Harry had already withstood 100-mile-an-hour wind-storms, a fire that engulfed his house, and numerous earthquakes. If the crater should start spewing out lava, Harry assumed he would have enough time to escape into an old mine shaft he had stocked with food and whiskey.
Despite ongoing eruptions of steam, harmonic tremors, and even a summit explosion, bullheaded Harry refused to budge. Although the number of eruptions lessened through March and April, the evacuation mandates continued.
However, Harry Truman had a tenacious stubborn streak, much like his presidential namesake, who quipped, “If you can’t stand the heat, you better get out of the kitchen!” 2 As conditions worsened in the vicinity of the volcano, most people in proximity did “get out of the kitchen”—but not tough ole Harry.
In fact, Harry gained national notoriety after a Portland, Oregon, television station interviewed him. People from one news show even visited him via helicopter. Harry could have literally
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