Dear Family and Friends,
I hope you all had a chance to reflect on our last topic.
We learned that our anger stems from an obstruction of our will, our expectations, our world as we want it to be. We also learned that anger is not a sin.
It’s what we do with our anger that determines if we sin.
Today we will continue on our quest to learn how to stop ourselves from sliding down the slippery slope towards sin.
As we all know, we are citizens of God’s Kingdom. Despite knowing that, have you noticed that we have a tendency to look to worldly solutions for our problems?
I wonder how many of us have looked to experts in the field of anger management to tell us how to control our anger. Here is a random list of their advice.
- Think before you speak
- Explore what’s really behind your anger
- Be aware of your anger warning signs
- Identify your triggers
- Learn ways to cool down quickly
- Once you’re calm, express your anger
- Stay calm by taking care of yourself
- Get some exercise
- Take a timeout
- Identify possible solutions
- Stick with ‘I’ statements (don’t attack)
- Don’t hold a grudge
- Use humor to release tension
- Practice relaxation skills
- Know when to seek help
I don’t know about you but I got exhausted just reading this list.
Would you agree that it’s mighty difficult to follow a list of things to do when we are on the verge of losing control over our emotions. Some of these experts suggest – practice makes perfect.
My concern is how many relationships must we damage before we get it right.
Let’s now spend a little time in the Bible, our playbook to the life Jesus wants for us. The following instance of Jesus getting angry will give us a glimpse of God’s way to managing anger.
Perhaps Jesus’ most well-known bursts of anger involved the clearing and cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem. The first is recorded by John (2:15-17) and the second is found in the three Synoptic Gospels as Holy Week began.
“Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.” Matthew 21:12-14 NIV
What most of us see when we read this passage is an angry Jesus. But I ask that you read it again. However, this time try looking for Jesus’ love for others.
Can you see Jesus’ love for those who were buying and selling?
By overturning their tables and benches Jesus stopped them from sinning further. It may seem like He was hurting them by disrupting their livelihood but the truth is their livelihood was steeped in sin.
Jesus did not hurt these vendors, he helped them by taking away their means to sin.
Today we would call this tough love.
Can you see Jesus’ love for those who were coming to the temple?
As noted in the last line in the passage above, Jesus loved the blind, the lame and likely poor but these vendors, or perhaps I should say the tools of the vendors, were impeding those who were seeking the presence of God.
Today we would call this compassionate love.
Can you see Jesus’ love for the Father? Contrary to how we get angry at obstructions to our will, Jesus angered at the obstructions to the will of His Father.
God’s will for this magnificent temple was prayer, not commerce.
The anger of Jesus began from His deep love for others.
Jesus once said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:43-45
Don’t you just adore Jesus, our good shepherd who lives out what He teaches?
So, as we go back to our topic for today – controlling our anger – we have a choice to make.
The world’s way is to try really hard to control our emotions, in short, our heart, so that we don’t hurt anyone with our tongues or hands, i.e., sin.
If you look closely, the world’s tools are actually just band aid solutions to what can sometimes be larger issues within the heart.
On the other hand, God’s way of anger management is through love. That controlling our anger begins with having a loving heart.
A wise man once wrote, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23
If our heart is full of love, our hands, our tongues, our actions and reactions will naturally follow.
Okay, I can already hear your objections – Sure, that’s how Jesus gets angry. This may be easy for Jesus – – but we’re not Jesus! There’s no way we can do that. Bring back the 15 steps to anger management.
True, we are not Jesus, but let’s not ever discount our ability to be more like Him.
Anything is possible once we understand the heart of Jesus, the same heart He wants for us, and enlist the help of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus commands that we love others as we love ourselves. He asks us to love our enemies. Let’s choose God’s way.
With love in our hearts, we will not have the will to hurt those who obstruct our will, hurt us, and cause us to slide down that slippery path from anger to contempt to revenge and hatred.
In love always,
In Love Always 