A few words arise in the new year. Perhaps they are worth some meditation — especially in these raucous times.

Remember first of all this: Much of anger is based on fears. Take a look at the anger of others or your own if you have anger and analyze the root cause of it.

Usually it’s something or someone who is a threat or otherwise causing us to be uneasy.

Scripture provides the simple (but not always easy) remedy. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, ” it says (1 John 4:18), “because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”

What comes through love is sanctified.

Now let’s mull over discipline — for it is the way to much joy in life.

If you can’t control yourself, you can’t control anything.

No one is a victim of circumstances.

Often we are victims often due to lack of self-control.

Count the ways that weakness has affected stages of your life.

We are not victims. We follow the great Victor named Jesus, Who defeated all evil for all time at Calvary — though demonic manifestations and struggles will last to the end of our (and earth’s) days.

And yes, we may suffer because God wills it for our purification. Too, there are “victim souls.”

But overall, too much suffering comes from self-defeat when we should be looking to Jesus (seeking a personal relationship with Him) instead of bemoaning victimization.

In the new year, we should stop defeating ourselves, which brings us back to the route away from that: whether in prayer, in eating, in drinking, in working, in entertainment, in exercise, in all that is carnal: discipline.

We may suffer — we may be purifying — but in the end we don’t have to be a victim.