Just about everywhere you look or go people seem to be mad about something. And a lot of them don’t seem to have any problem letting that anger, inside, out for everyone to see.
But when the anger inside comes out, so does the ugliness of sin.
People are walking around with chips on their shoulders. That’s what we used to call it anyway. Or you could say they’re carrying grudges in their hearts. And that would be bad enough. But at least it would be invisible to just about everyone. Trouble is, they don’t stop the anger inside from coming out. And a lot of it even leads to escalated physical harm.
But I’ll let you in on a little secret about the root cause. Selfishness.
Yeah, selfishness is at the heart of almost all anger issues. It’s difficult to manage your anger, when all you care about is how he or she or the whole world wronged you.
And you find a way to justify your own anger, when you don’t take responsibility for your actions. I’ve been dealing with this with someone I’ve known for a very, very long time. He believes I’ve wronged him in the past (issues from 20 years ago and beyond). And he has told me I’ve never apologized or shown any remorse.
I’m not gonna share the whole sob story. But I can say with a clear conscience that this person has ripped me off multiple times, left me in the lurch multiple times, and F-bombed Jesus in my house. And, to this day, he’s never once apologized or shown any remorse for his actions. Some say this is narcissism. And I don’t disagree.
But again, the root cause is selfishness. And rebellion against God.
The person I’m talking about doesn’t care what God says about anger. But, to quote from Paul’s writing in Ephesians, “be angry and do not sin.” And when Paul wrote that, he was actually quoting from one of King David’s Psalms where it said, “Be angry, and do not sin, Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.”
But people obsess over problems, challenges, and obstacles in everyday life. That makes it easy to form a tunnel vision where the tunnel always leads to SELF.
And that leads to projecting those problems onto others. And that leads to self harm. Physical, mental, and emotional harm. You might not realize the full negative consequences of letting the anger inside out while you’re young and strong. But they’ll show up eventually. And the older you are, the more harmful the consequences.
There are even studies that say anger encourages cancer.
I’m not saying those studies are absolutely true. But it might be more than coincidence that the rising rate of cancer in the world happens at the same time there are more angry people than ever.
So, what about you? What rules in your life? Anger? Or joy? I wrote this rhyme about it years ago…
If you’re angry, just don’t sin.
Open up your heart and let God in.
He can help you work it out.
And He’ll show you what it’s all about.
Life is better, when you trust
The One who is Holy, right, and just.
Give it up, and I know…
You’ll be glad where God will help you go.
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