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Well, it is the 31st of the month again. How this always sneaks up on me is beyond my comprehension, but it does. It certainly isn’t because I don’t want to write, but rather because life is crazy. Of course you know what I’m talking about because life is insane for everyone here in 2023. Hustle here, hustle there, hustle everywhere. One thing that busyness leads to in my life is a shorter fuse.
Sometimes as the stressors hit, so does my boiling level. Inevitably it spills out on those around me as I lash out because of my own problems, not theirs. Of course my wife is often a target of this boiling over. It seems as though we keep everything right at the top of the pot while we are at work or out in the world, but as soon as we get home, who gets the spillage? The people we care about most.
In every example we see in the Bible of someone getting angry and acting out of that anger, it is because of something inside of them, not because of someone else. Saul’s anger at David came out of jealousy and anxiety due to David getting more praise than him from the people of Israel; it didn’t come from anything David did to him. King Nebuchadnezzar was embarrassed because Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn’t do what he had ordered, so he lashed out. The Sanhedrin thought they were right about the law and this caused anger toward Jesus because he challenged their thinking. Anger comes from a place inside of us that often we need to work on. Or, more appropriately, we need God to work on.
Jealousy, pride, self-righteousness… all these are things we should give up to God, and they are all things that led to anger in the above Bible stories. For me, I’ve dealt with each one of these, and many more, at one time or another in my life. However, these days what causes that pot to boil over more often than not is pride.
Someone who isn’t giving me my due – “well, how dare they?! Don’t they know what I’ve done?” This line takes on many forms, from home, work, the ball field, and even sometimes just talking music or sports. Heck, pretty much anything can cause pride to rear its ugly head, and whenever my chest starts to puff out a bit, I’m in danger of letting that pride swell up in anger.
Cain’s pride led to his killing his brother and, although we don’t do that (hopefully), we can “kill” a relationship because of pride, which leads to anger. This has certainly manifested in my life with my own brother.
One of my older brothers lives in this state; heck, he lives 30 minutes from me, and I went several years without saying two words to him. I’d say it was pride and that self-righteous feeling of, “I would never do that!” that sent me into an anger that would cost me several years with my brother.
Did we need to work some things out? Of course we did. I’m certainly not saying that problems don’t arise. Paul wrote half of the New Testament, and he and Barnabas had a major disagreement. However, if we don’t give that disagreement up to the Lord in prayer, that is when our own selfish sin takes over. Pride, jealousy, and self-righteousness are all things that point us inward instead of upward.
For the record, my brother and I have finally talked through things and made amends, but so much time was wasted over those years. I don’t know what inward sin that leads to anger you struggle with most at this time in your life, but I challenge you to start giving it up to God and see if that doesn’t help with any anger issues you seem to have.
As always this isn’t just for the reader. Yours truly will be doing the same. I’ll be working daily right along with you. “More of Him, less of me,” will be my prayer as I will be working on my own pride to keep that pot from gurgling toward the top. If you enjoyed reading this blog and want to subscribe, please add your email below. I hope you and yours have a blessed and joyful Easter. God bless!
As usual, Son, you touched a bery poignant subject. As with Paul, you make yourself the “chief sinner.” Your examples from scripture are once again spot on. I am so proud that you are allowing God to use you in this way. Your transparency is great to see. The way you relate to those of us who read you is masterful. Thank you for using your God given talent. I am very proud of you. As always, I love you dearly.
As usual, Son, you touched a bery poignant subject. As with Paul, you make yourself the “chief sinner.” Your examples from scripture are once again spot on. I am so proud that you are allowing God to use you in this way. Your transparency is great to see. The way you relate to those of us who read you is masterful. Thank you for using your God given talent. I am very proud of you. As always, I love you dearly.
As usual, Son, you touched a very poignant subject. As with Paul, you make yourself the “chief sinner.” Your examples from scripture are once again spot on. I am so proud that you are allowing God to use you in this way. Your transparency is great to see. The way you relate to those of us who read you is masterful. Thank you for using your God given talent. I am very proud of you. As always, I love you dearly.