Monday; October 15
The Bible gets
right to the point on the issue of anger. While it appears there are
times when righteous anger might be fitting, the Word of God strongly cautions
us against being too quick to be angry. The Old Testament book of
Proverbs advises, “A man
of great anger will bear the penalty, For if you
rescue him, you will only have to do it again.” (Proverbs 19:19) while the
New Testament challenges, “This you know, my beloved
brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to
speak and slow to anger; for the
anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” (James
1:19-20). It might have been easier for us if the Bible would have just
gone ahead and prohibited us from becoming angry, but it’s cautions remind us
to tread lightly or we may overstep our boundaries.
As I thought about anger I got to wondering what is important enough for me to
be angry about? Knowing that there can be a thin line between righteous
indignation and destructive anger, when should I become angry? Aware of
the damage that anger can do – to others and to ourselves – where can I
rationalize becoming angry? I don’t know that we can always define areas
where righteous indignation can be applied, but we can sure see some situations
where it doesn’t apply – when someone cuts us off in traffic, when we are
short-changed in the check-out line, in a discussion over our favorite sports
team, debates over political policies and disputes with our neighbors over our
property line or their dog.
The next time we start to feel the twinge of anger creeping in, let’s ask
ourselves if this circumstance is worth losing our relationship with the other
person and with our God. Chances are it isn’t, so why risk stepping over
the line?
Think About It!