Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
(James 1:19-21 ESV)
The scripture verses above were the focus of a recent community group bible study in which I participated. The next day my personal bible study pointed me to 1st Corinthians 13.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends.... (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV)
These two passages seemed to come together as one clear message speaking to me. Anger is something that I have wrestled with in my adult life. My reactions often times are the exact opposite of what James tells his "beloved brothers" to do. I am afraid I am more like pre-resurrection Peter than I am like James.
I have found myself quick to hear what I think someone is saying--which really is not listening or hearing at all. I have been slow to speak when speaking out is necessary in taking a stand or promoting a cause. I have been slow to anger when I witness wrongdoing or injustice
Conversely, I have been slow to listen to others' viewpoint or reasoning. I have been quick to speak without thinking things through. I have lost my temper over what later I know are battles not worth pursuing. My anger was far greater than the offense.
During the discussion I reasoned that much of what James is calling for is a humbleness of spirit and self. Why do I/we get angry? It is often because I/we feel we are in a superior position than whatever person or circumstance gets in our way. One member of the group called it "goal blocking". He said that he gets angry when anything stands in his way.
Our discuss questions include conversation about justified anger or appropriate anger. Some could not think of times in their lives when anger was justified or appropriate. I thought this to be a little short-sighted. (It didn't make me angry, however, even though I felt I held a superior position...so much for humbleness). I said that I think anger at injustices such as child abuse, discrimination, racism and other types of social issues could be justified. To me, anger at circumstances and actions is much different from anger toward individuals.
I could be wrong here but I think James is writing about long held anger that festers and poisons oneself. Granted, he is not dismissing the quick flairs of road rage or quick tempered vitriol but I think it is the anger that we feed that hinders our souls.
When I think I am superior or hold a superior opinion /position I am more likely to have my anger fueled when someone says or does something counter to my desired and pre-determined outcome. This thinking requires me to assume I am in the right. It then is more about ego and winning: winning the argument, winning the point, winning dominance. Sounds like a far cry from the meekness James writes about.
And what about that stuff Paul writes about? Be not arrogant, not rude, not irritable, not resentful. My, oh my, don't insist on your own way? I know that is where I get into trouble! I would guess most of us do too!
Upon deeper reflection, I pondered why any of us have the right to get angry at all."...the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.: This is where humility really comes into play. If we submit ourselves to a greater authority and accept our unworthiness and inferiority it really makes it much easier to control our actions regarding anger,
That higher authority I refer to, of course, is Christ. When we stack our thoughts, words and deeds along side of a perfect Savior we are all going to fall well short. Against a holy scale we all fail. There is no grading on the curve.
Anger is not a sin. I talked earlier about cases where anger can be legitimate. Jesus displayed anger during his life on earth. He turned over the tables of the money-changers in the temple. This was not a temper tantrum. It was an act of purifying the temple. It was in all it's display the product of the righteousness of God.
Are there things we should be angry about? I believe so. I actually believe that we are wrong when we don't get angry sometimes.... "it (love) does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. The truth can't be twisted to fit our agenda or our motives. We have to view the truth through the lens of the cross.
Here is a simple measuring stick: Re-read 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8. Replace the word "love" with "God"; because we are told in 1 John that "God is love. Then replace the word "God" with the name of Jesus. Re-read it. After all, we are told "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."(John 1:1 ESV). "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 ESV).
Now as Christ Followers we are to be like Christ; so substitute your name for the words "love", "God", "Jesus" and "it". Re-read it. Let it soak in. Is (insert your name here) patient and kind? Is it true that (insert your name) doesn't envy or boast? Is (yep you again) arrogant or rude? Does (you get the idea) insist on their on way?
I know when I place my name in those verses I cannot measure up. I see my failures and shortcoming. I see that regardless of how good I may try to be or how right I think I am, I will never be in a position to justify long held spirit killing anger. Up against a infinitely Holy God I really don't have any right to be angry at all!
Since that night of community group I have worked to be conscience of what causes my own anger. I have tried to be quicker to listen and slower to speak. As with most things I am a work in progress. Based on the passages above the answer for anger is love. If we can manage to love others it would be a whole lot easier to manage our anger!
God Bless and thanks for reading
Jeff
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