Jesus was angry on a couple of occasions. However, he exercised holy anger. We are commanded to be, according to James, "be angry and sin not." Confused yet? How do we do this? How do we understand when and when not to be full of God's anger and not the anger most acceptable in the world we live in? Anger is reserved for those situations and times when the Lord is insulted, denigrated and an expression of what God would be angry over. Take for example the Israelites. They were a complaining and angry (worldly) people from the start. Their lives were filled with jealousy, deceit and hypocrisy. It would only be when they found themselves in trouble beyond their anger that they would call upon the Lord. You and I are like that. At least I am/was. I'm getting better at submitting my life to Jesus but have difficulties like other Christians. God, in his anger, would give the Israelites over to their own desires and enemies much like he does with you and I. Having peace means we surrender our anger and let it be replaced with God's anger. Take note that God wants to be our savior and redeemer of every area of our lives.
I have written a list of pet peeves that I look at from time to time and wonder how many of them are on God's list about me! This morning I had to deal with a company that I owe $29.00 to. I called them and was immediately put on hold for 20 minutes. They answered (from the Philippines) asked me what I was calling about. I told them after answering the 3 secret questions and was promptly transferred to a lady in London who answered but put me on hold for 30 minutes. She came back on the line and asked me why I was calling. Can you see my anger rising? Despite my objection she then said "I'll look up your information" and promptly put me back on hold for another 20 minutes. She came back on line and asked me why I was calling. I again told her I owed their company $29.00 and was trying to pay that amount. She said, "Wait just a moment while I confirm." and promptly sent me to elevator music laced with statements about how customer orientated they were and how they had eager customer service agents standing buy to help me. Yeah, right. While I was on the phone I decided to do their online chat to address the same issue. Same story for 30 minutes. I finally hung up. An hour later I received a call from them saying how glad they were that I used their services and was taken care of. Yep. The man (from the Philippines) asked me for feedback on how well they had done. I told him they rated below 0 and I would never do business with them again. He, in his best accent said, "Thank you." and meant it.
So, I talked first to myself and then stopped and just was quiet. They send me a text saying that everything was fine and I didn't owe them any money. So, I talked with God who said, Steven, Steven, Steven...when are you going to let me deal with these frustrations?" Obviously the anger I was experiencing wasn't holy and needed repentance from me. So, I did. It was my choice from the beginning and still is now. I've chosen wisely and await my next trial or tribulation. It's always your choice.
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