Anger is a strong emotion.
It can elicit tears, yelling, or even physical aggression, resulting in resentment and regret over words and
actions that can’t be taken back. How
can we, as followers of Christ, deal with this passionate emotion when it is
directed at us or when we feel the fires of it burning inside us?
You might be one to get frustrated and say, “ I hate people!”
. Chances are you don’t really hate
people, but you dislike their behavior.
It can be frustrating when you follow the rules, expecting others to do
the same, and they don’t. There’s a whole
lot of the ME above anybody else mentality going on in the world, and that can
be challenging to deal with.
Driving in traffic is
one of the most telling scenes about human behavior. How do we react when other drivers tailgate
too closely, or aren’t driving the speed limit, or cut you off? Driving is supposed to be a convenient luxury
that brings us joy, but a lot of the time it seems to bring about irritation
and downright anger. How do you respond
when another driver honks and flips you off?
Do you return the favor? Would
Jesus do that?
Our response to people’s behavior is greatly influenced by
what we have been taught and who we are spending our time with. When you have children, you teach them right
from wrong, and you are discerning when it comes to the friends they hang out
with. The reason for that discernment is
because of the influence those friends will have on our kids, and because who
they hang out with affects how other people view them. Like it or not, that’s the truth.
Even as adults, the behavior of the people we spend time
with rubs off on us. Do you remember
when you had little ones and you would be in a bad mood or stressed? Babies and little ones pick up on that and
feed off of our emotions. That doesn’t
go away in adulthood. Maybe the whole “feed
off each other” thing is something born into us. When you hang around people who tend to be
negative, it can be hard to stay positive.
Most negative and angry people are broken and have inner
turmoil in their lives. They might just
need to be heard, loved, not quickly judged, but helped. So, how can we befriend these folks but not
become like them?
- · Set Boundaries
o
As Christians, we may feel compelled to befriend
and show God’s light to those who are broken.
The trouble is, only Jesus can fix broken people. We should show kindness to them, but keep a
distance emotionally. When you start to
feel their negative influence taking over, choose to spend time in God’s Word
instead.
- · Pray For Them
o
When a driver honks at you and flips you off,
look at the expression on their face. It
won’t be a pretty one. Most of the time,
there is pain behind that expression.
Choose to pray for that person.
Just a brief prayer saying, “Father, I don’t know what is hurting that
person today, but would you ease his/her pain?”. That will also take the focus off of your
frustration in the situation.
- · Love Them
o
Our challenge is to love. It isn’t to judge or conform or covet, but to
love. This is better managed when we
remember that this world is not really home.
There are a lot of good things here, and there is a lot of trouble here,
but there’s a better home waiting for us.
- · Practice Self-Control
o
In order to be in the world, but not of it, we
must develop self-control. Jesus honors
this because He practiced it. He stayed
calm while being mocked, beaten and hung to die. We can look to His example, and not allow our
emotions to control us.
We walk by example and teeter on a tight rope of emotions
during various times in our lives. We
must choose to love, and hope our example of light rubs off on somebody else’s
darkness.
We leave you with a
quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ““Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light
can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
Passages to Ponder:
Proverbs 22:24-25 – Don’t befriend angry people or associate with
hot-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul.
I John 2:15-16- Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for
when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for
physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our
achievements and possessions. These are
not from the Father, but are from this world.
Romans 8:9- But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have
the Spirit of God living in you. (And
remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not
belong to Him at all).
Contributors: Karen Bromby,
Monica Brown, Michele Killion, Kim McClure, Marla McDonald and Kristy Tolley
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