Jump Start # 1651

James 1:20 “for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” 

  Anger—it’s the poison of our attitude and the destroyer of our soul. Our verse tells us that anger doesn’t accomplish goodness with God. The previous verse in James reminds us to be slow to anger. Far too often, we know just the opposite of slow to anger. We use expressions like, “short fuse” to describe the person that blows up easily. The Ephesians were told to not let the sun go down on their anger. They were also told to put away anger, along with wrath, clamor and slander—the words and the behaviors that seem to follow anger.

Anger, upset, mad, fuming, ready to explode  – it happens at home. It happens while we drive, road rage. It happens at work. It even happens sometimes at church. We get mad for dozens of reasons. Some seem justifiable. But even then, anger stirs our insides and it leaves us in a mess. We can’t eat because we are mad. We can’t get it off our mind, so we toss and turn all night long. We feel compelled to tell everyone we know about how unfair we’ve been treated. Sometimes, it seems, a person is upset with a product, a corporation, an insurance company or the government. They feel like David facing the giant. They are just one little peon facing a major corporation that will never change. Anger.

It seems that some like to be angry. I’m not sure why, but they always seem to be upset. It sure appears that they stay that way most times. Much of the movies and music today are angry. Anger feeds into violence and we see the extreme of that almost every week now. Someone shoots another person because they are mad and upset.

Being calm is hard to do when your world seems to be collapsing around you. I used a verse in one of my sermons yesterday. Psalms 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Other translations use the expression, “cease striving.” The expression, Be still, comes from the Latin word for vacate. It seems that God is giving us permission to take a vacation from being God. Let God be God. Let God run the world. Be still. Cease striving. Calm down. Take a breath.

It might help to remember:

1. This life is not fair. It’s not. That won’t help  your situation. That won’t put you in a better mood. But what we often want is for the order of things to be turned so things are right. Some things will never be right, not on this side of life. God will iron out all the wrinkles at the judgment. He will make things right. But between now and then, unfairness, favoritism, double standards, dishonesty and cheating may prevail. Donald Trump has says that the system is “rigged.” It may be. We may want to right those wrongs, but in this world that may not happen. So, you may not get the job that you are qualified for. You may not get the scholarship. You may not get what you have worked hard for. Life is not fair. You have worked hard, paid your dues and expect to be rewarded for that. You may not be. Heaven is on the other side of life, not this side.

2. Not everyone cares about what is fair or right. Things may be fixed because that is the way those in charge want it to be. That upsets us. Corporate heads may make life harder for employees near the bottom of the rung. It is not uncommon for some to declare, “they don’t care about us.” That may be true. Under cover Boss is a great TV show, but in many places the boss doesn’t care about you. That’s enough to make you mad and worse, turn you into the same way.

3. God knows. That’s the redeeming value in all of this. God knows. He knows about sparrows. He knows about the hairs on your head. He knows when someone gives a cup of cold water to another. He knows what you go through in a day. We wish and we want vast armies of angels to sweep down and right all of these wrongs. That probably won’t happen. God is more concerned about how these wrongs are affecting you. They can build character. They can bring the good out of you. They can lead you to help others. Since God knows, then pray. Since God knows, seek His counsel. Since God knows, turn to His word. You are not forgotten, nor alone. You, with prayer, can accomplish more than a whole corporation.

4. Staying within the boundaries of what is right, influence change. Do what you can to make things better. Instead of waiting for someone to change this or looking for a knight on a white horse to come in and save the day, you begin where you can and do what you can. Understand, this is risky. You put your self out there and those that resist change may take pot shots at you. But if it’s good and right, take that chance. Do it not just for your sake, but for those around you. They may lack courage. They may not stand with you when the chips are down. But you, move forward, do what you can.

Staying angry and telling others who cannot do anything about what upsets you, doesn’t accomplish much. Anger, we started off with, doesn’t accomplish the righteousness of God. Anger isn’t the way that God wants you to go. A moment of anger can destroy years of good. People will remember your angry moments for a long time. The angry person says things that he shouldn’t. It’s hard to take those words back. The angry person often does things without thinking. Those things are hard to fix. The pulpit isn’t the place for someone to stand when they are angry. It usually gets messy when that happens.

Anger, like most emotions, must be kept under control. Like a mighty horse, when bridled and trained, it can win the Kentucky Derby. But, like that horse, when out of control, it takes the rider for a scary ride. Under control. Be angry, yet do not sin. That’s the key.

I hope this helps.

Roger